The Guardian
by rebellion2fate
Summary: FBI Agent Uzumaki Naruto's life is forever changed when he is assigned to protect the last Uchiha. Naruto is torn between his duty and his emotions as he uncovers the mystery of the Uchiha massacre. Is Sasuke really innocent? NaruSasu
1. Operation 01

Author's Note: Okay, so I know I should be updating _Nothing Left to Give_, but this was a plot bunny I just couldn't get rid of. No, this is not another one shot. It's actually my first attempt at a Naruto fanfic. I hope I do okay!

Warnings: This story is rated Teen for the moment, but if I decide to include a lemon or two the rating will go up to Mature. If anyone has a problem with this, as always, let me know.

Disclaimers: Naruto and it's characters are not mine, never were mine, and will never be mine. There will be various songs included in this story, and they, likewise, are not mine. The song included at the end of this chapter is called "Had Enough" by "Breaking Benjamin".

And without further ado, here's the first chapter of _The Guardian_

**The Guardian**

**Operation 01**

R-2-F

The club's music blared as the bodies on the dance floor bumped and ground against each other to the beat pouring from the speakers. The club was packed to the brim with people. Most where college students out for a weekend of partying, though others were business men and women who had just gotten off of work and were looking for a reprieve from another grueling day in the office. The bar was lined with teenagers and scantily clad women looking for a free drink from an admiring customer and the smell of smoke hung heavily in the air, drifting from one of the many private rooms towards the back.

All in all, it was utterly chaotic.

And in the opinion of a certain Naruto Uzumaki, it was perfect.

"Come on, Kiba!" Naruto exclaimed as the bouncer allowed the two men to pass before repositioning himself between the anxious line outside and the club entrance. "What do you want to do first? Dance? Drink?" He looked over his shoulder at the brunette and his grin only widened at the apparent shock on his friend's face. Apparently Kiba hadn't believed him when Naruto had said that this club was the place to be on a Saturday night.

Kiba caught his friend's gloating look and glared back, ignoring the almost feral grin the look earned him. "I can't believe an idiot like you found a place like..." His eyes scanned the bodies on the dance floor where everyone was so tightly packed it was hard to hazard a guess as to how many people were really out there. "...like this." He finished weakly.

"Great, isn't it?"

Before Kiba had a chance to reply with yet another snide remark the blond man had taken hold of his arm and began to drag him towards the bar. Kiba followed behind Naruto with a sigh, shoving his free hand inside of his jacket to make sure that he had his wallet. He knew better than to think that the blond idiot would pay.

"How'd you find this place anyway?" Kiba growled as Naruto came to a stop at the counter.

"You'll see." Naruto replied with a foxy grin.

Only moments after Naruto had spoken the bartender appeared in front of them. "See what?" The man grinned, shifting the stick in his mouth with a flick of his tongue. He grinned at the two men before him. "Kiba! Haven't seen you in a while, dog-breath! What's up?"

Kiba nearly came unglued as he recognized the bartender. "Y-you!" He exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in the much older man's face. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of the bartender. He rounded on Naruto accusingly. "You knew!" He gasped, his finger still pointed straight between the bartender's eyes though his attention had shifted to his friend.

Naruto laughed heartily and placed a hand on Kiba's arm, lowering his accusing finger. "Of course I knew-- I found out about this place from Genma, after all." The steadily increasing look of horror on Kiba's face caused Naruto to laugh even harder. "C'mon Kiba, it's just Genma!"

"Just Genma?!" Kiba exclaimed, his voice raising several octaves.. "**_Just Genma?!"_**

The man behind the counter arched an eyebrow, though it was clear the brunette's reaction was found highly amusing by someone other than Naruto. Genma chuckled softly as he reached under the bar for two glasses, retrieving a rag at the same time and wiping the glasses with swift efficiency. "'Just Genma'?" The older brunette pouted, his lower lip sticking out slightly. "That hurts, Uzumaki."

Naruto rolled his eyes at both of their antics. "Come on Kiba, you're being ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?!" Kiba nearly screamed, once again pointing at the man behind the counter. "Do you have **any **idea how many times I came home to find him and his-his--" Kiba fumbled for a word, turning bright red as a result.

"Boyfriend?" Genma supplied easily, filling the glasses half full of Tequila before filling them the rest of the way with coke.

Kiba turned even redder, if such a thing was possible at this point. "Do you have any idea how many times I came home to find them doing...things...in my house?!" He shook his head violently as if trying to rid himself of the memory. "The living room, the kitchen, the shower-- nowhere was sacred!"

Genma grinned wolfishly. "Not even your bed."

"Yeah, not even my b-" Kiba paused, his eyes going impossibly wide as Genma's words sank in. All color seemed to drain from his face. "You didn't."

"We did."

Naruto couldn't help it; he died laughing.

Kiba glared as his supposed 'friend' and 'partner'. "Shut it, fox-face! It's not funny!" Kiba's face contorted into a look of utter disgust. "Now I'm going to have to burn my bed."

Genma laughed as he pushed the two drinks towards the younger men. "Ten dollars even." He said lazily as he held out a hand for the money. As he waited Genma rolled the stick in his mouth with his tongue lazily, a habit he had picked up once he had given up smoking and traded his trademark cigarette for a stick. When asked Genma would say that he still toted the stick because he had to have _something_ to occupy his mouth while his boyfriend was away, but in reality it was an old habit he found impossible to break.

Kiba scowled at the older man and snatched the drinks, offering no money in return. He couldn't help but allow a small smirk at the look of shock on the older brunette's face. "You just cost me a perfectly good bed; you owe me." As Kiba turned around he bumped into an utterly solid form that nearly caused him to spill both his and Naruto's drinks. "Hey, watch it asswipe!"

"Kiba?" The "asswipe" replied in surprise, looking down at the small man with widened brown eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Kiba looked up only to meet the eyes of one Raidou Namiashi- A.K.A, Genma's boyfriend.

"Raidou!" Genma squealed as he bounded over the bar and launched himself at the taller man, ignoring his customers in favor of his boyfriend.

Naruto laughed as Raidou caught Genma easily and drew him into his arms, wrapping both of his strong arms around Genma's waist and laying his chin on the slightly smaller man's shoulder. The look of utter horror on Kiba's face at seeing the missing part of the duo was priceless. Naruto seriously debated whether or not the Inuzuka was going to shit himself at the sight of Raidou. It certainly looked that way.

"You!" Kiba repeated, this time pointing his finger at Raidou instead of at the man in his arms and nearly spilling his drink in the process. Naruto sensed the immediate danger that his drink was in and quickly snatched the other glass from Kiba, taking a quick swig and sighing in content.

"Me?" Raidou repeated in confusion.

"You ruined my bed! And you didn't tell me!" Kiba ranted, waving his hand around and in doing so sloshing his drink all over the place. He didn't seem to care about his drink at the moment though; no, he was too concerned about his desecrated bed. "_I sleep there!" _

Raidou's eyes widened in realization and he looked at Genma with a look of horror that nearly mirrored Kiba's. "You told him!?" He squeaked, releasing his hold on the brunette as if his hands had caught fire.

"He made me!" Genma protested, launching himself once again at Raidou and attaching himself to his boyfriend's arm. "He threatened me! He said that if I didn't tell him he would _kill _me!!"

"I did not!" Kiba excalimed defensively. "He was bragging-!"

Raidou turned a suddenly dangerous glare to the man attached to his arm. "You were bragging...?" He repeated darkly, shaking the younger man off of his arm with some difficulty. He ignored Genma's indignant protests and began walking away, towards the crowd. "That's it, Genma. Consider yourself on the couch for the remainder of the week."

"B-but Raidou"

"And no sex."

The music mostly drowned out Genma's mortified scream, but Raidou did not have to look back to see the stricken look on his lover's face. Oh no, he knew that look well enough by now. Raidou chuckled evilly as he left the club, all the while imagining the look that was undoubtedly on Genma's face at the prospect of a week without sex.

"And then when that week is over," Raidou thought aloud as he unlocked his car, his lips twisting into a wicked grin. "Then comes the make-up sex."

No, Genma was not the only pervert in their relationship.

R-2-F

Kiba shook his head as he watched a deflated Genma return to his bartending duties. The man looked as if he had just been denied Christmas or been told Santa Clause wasn't real, but then again the threat of no sex for a week probably held about the same amount of weight to a man like Genma. Kiba could only chuckle as he drank down what was left of his drink. "They haven't changed a bit." Kiba commented as he set the glass down on a random table, ignoring the protests that came from the people who sat there. "C'mon, let's dance."

Naruto laughed and followed suit, though he opted to keep his drink with him. "Wait up, dog breath!" He hollered, hoping to be heard over the roar of the music as he struggled to catch up with his friend. Kiba had already launched himself into the crowd and disappeared from sight, leaving Naruto to trail behind him.

Naruto pushed his way into the crowd, getting bumped and jostled as the people around him continued to dance without seeming to even notice him. He began to feel claustrophobic as the bodies around him continued to press against him from all side, leaving him feeling trapped amidst the chaos of the club. With a sudden surge of determination Naruto shoved against the barrier of people and stumbled through them, only to run into someone head on. The sudden stop caused all of Naruto's weight to be transferred onto this unsuspecting person...as well as his drink.

Naruto winced as he felt his drink slosh onto his hand and undoubtedly the other's clothes. He was almost afraid to look up. Knowing his luck he had run into an ex-sumo wrestler who was now going to kick his ass in the middle of the club, and judging by the people's reactions surrounding him they wouldn't do a damn thing to stop him. Now, it wasn't like Naruto couldn't handle his own or anything; en contrare, Naruto had...special training...of sorts. But he was loathe to make a scene, which is exactly what fighting back would cause.

However, luck was on Naruto's side today, because instead of looking up to find the bulky form of a professional wrestler looming over him he instead found himself face to face with what had to be the single most beautiful man Naruto had ever seen. The man was slightly shorter than Naruto in stature, and where as Naruto was built solid and muscular the other man was built small and lithe, though still possessing clearly defined muscles. In fact, upon closer inspection, the man was Naruto's opposite in every way; where Naruto's blond hair was short and spiky, this man wore his raven hair longer, the front of his hair framing his jaw line and the back cut shorter and spiked. Where Naruto's expressive eyes were bright blue, the other's were an emotionless onyx. Even their skin colors were polar opposites, with Naruto's a dark tan and the other's a milky white.

Naruto's stupefied spell was broken when the raven spoke. "Watch where you're going, dobe."

His voice was deep and somehow gentle, yet another opposite to Naruto's harsh tenor.

"Uh...I.." Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. "Sorry about-" Naruto's words trailed off as he watched the man pick at his drenched shirt...his _ruined_, drenched shirt. "Your...shirt." He finished lamely, his eyes widening at the damage he had done. He reached out instinctively and took the shirt in his hands, in doing so dragging the smaller man closer to him. "Shit." He said with mounting horror. "Was this fucking silk?"

The other glared in return, seeming unphased in the slightest that he had to tilt his chin up slightly to meet Naruto's eyes . "_'Was'_ being the opportune word."

Naruto swore again under his breath, looking down at the other man. "Here, how much was it? I'll pay for it-" He released his hold on the other's shirt and began to dig for his wallet.

"More than you'll make in a year." He replied flatly as he began to move towards the bar. "Forget about it."

"No!" Naruto insisted, rushing after the guy. He grabbed the raven's wrist and spun him around. "I fucked up the shirt, the least I can do is pay for it-"

"I already told you to forget about it." The raven replied icily, taking his free hand and using it to pry Naruto's death grip from his wrist. Naruto let go out of surprise at the strength in the smaller man's grip but immediately regretted it as the raven once again began to walk off. "I have other shirts."

With those final words the raven managed to shake off Naruto and disappeared into the crowd without so much as a backwards glance. Naruto stood rooted to the spot, his hand hanging limp at his side for a moment. "Bastard," He growled, curling his hands into fists. "I was just trying to help."

He returned to the dance floor in hopes of having better luck of finding Kiba. This time he found the brunette with little mishap. Kiba was standing in front of what appeared to be a stage with a group of girls that appeared to be chattering excitedly about something. Kiba on the other hand just looked confused. Naruto couldn't help but laugh when he was spotted by his friend and given a pleading look by the dog lover. Unable to deny his friend's request Naruto headed over to the quartet with a smile fixed on his face. He refused to let the raven haired bastard ruin his night.

"Hey dog breath, who're your friends?" Naruto asked casually, ignoring the glare he received for the use of that nickname in front of the ladies. He flashed the rosette closest to him a charming smile. His actions received a shy blush from the girl, but a harsh glare from his friend. "What??" He demanded innocently of Kiba.

"Naruto, this is Sakura, Ino, and Hinata." He said, gesturing to each girl in turn. "Girls, this is my friend and partner, Naruto." He shot Naruto a no-nonsense look and waited for the blond to finish the introduction.

Naruto sighed heavily and shot Sakura an apologetic grin. "And I'm gay." He finished with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly, Kiba. Are you that afraid of a little friendly competition?"

Kiba squawked indignantly. "There _is _no competition-you're gay!" He crossed his arms, glaring at the other man without an ounce of animosity. "I just don't think it's right that you like to mess with girls' heads like that."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't do it on purpose."

The girls all laughed, including Hinata who, in her defense, tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile behind her cupped hand. Their laughter earned a defeated groan from Kiba and a triumphant grin from Naruto. "Thanks for the backup, girls." He sulked, leaning with his back against the stage.

"Oh get over yourself, Inuzuka." The blonde girl, Ino, snapped. She hit Kiba across the back of his head none too gently, though she was grinning. "Neither of you are my type."

Sakura laughed and nodded. "Mine either."

Naruto faked a sniffle and wiped at an imaginary tear. "Oh, I'm so heartbroken." He whimpered dramatically before throwing himself at Kiba. "How will I go on?!"

Kiba rolled his eyes and laughed, shoving his friend off of him. "Get off of me, you man-whore."

Naruto stumbled back a step or two, standing right between two of the girls. He sighed dramatically and draped an arm across either of their shoulders, earning a laugh from both Sakura and Ino. "He's just jealous that I get more action than he does." Naruto barely finished his words before he ducked a playful punch that was aimed for his head. "Hey now!" He exclaimed, ducking behind Hinata. "Save me!"

Hinata blushed bright red as Kiba's attention was turned towards her. "U-uhm...Naruto-kun." She stammered, trying her best to fight down her blush and at the same time sidestep so that she was no longer standing between the blond and Kiba.

"Hey, hands off Uzumaki!" Kiba growled as Naruto grabbed Hinata's knees to keep her still. "Leave Hinata alone."

Naruto noted the faint blush that graced Kiba's face as he said the girl's name and grinned wolfishly, releasing his hold on his captive and standing straight once again. "Aww, puppy love!" He cooed, earning a fierce hit over his head with Kiba's fist as the pair both blushed fiercely.

Sakura and Ino rolled their eyes at the two boys' antics, though they shared a secret smile as Hinata and Kiba both began to stammer out protests. Before any further words could be exchanged between the five of them the lights began to dim in the club and the music faded away. Nearly instantaneously, the club was filled with screams. Sakura and Ino were perhaps the loudest of all.

"The show's starting!" They squealed in unison, turning as one towards the stage as the curtains began to be drawn back.

"Show?" Both Naruto and Kiba repeated in confusion. They shared a bewildered look before they turned towards the girls for an explanation, one as clueless as the other. "What show?"

Ino sighed, taking it upon herself to explain. "How can you _not _know? Mortal Fatality's performing tonight!" She and Sakura looked at each other. "Sasuke-kun!" They squealed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Naruto and Kiba exchanged yet another look over the girls' heads. Kiba arched an eyebrow in silent question and Naruto merely shrugged in reply. How the hell was he suppose to know? Even Hinata looked as if she wanted to join Sakura and Ino in their crazed antics but stubbornly refrained from doing so.

Before Naruto could give the issue any more thought the curtains were drawn back and the lights were completely shut off, casting the entire club in darkness. Seconds later the sound of a guitar penetrated through the noise of the screaming fans, causing everyone to fall into complete and utter silence. Drums joined the guitar after only seconds, an angry sound that drew everyone's attention to the stage as the lights began to come on one by one, revealing those on stage

The first man to be revealed stood on the far right was known as Subaku Gaara. The red head stood completely still as his fingers glided across the strings of his bass guitar with an ease that was easily attributed to that of a professional guitarist. His face remained emotionless as he played, his aqua eyes fixed with blazing intensity on the bass in his hands though it didn't seem as if he was really seeing it. The redhead wore a pair of tight leather pants in black with a dark red long-sleeved button up shirt, though the shirt was only half buttoned and the sleeves were rolled up to Gaara's elbows. He completed his outfit with a pair of black combat boots that came up to mid-thigh and he wore over his leather pants, the shoelaces loosely tied.

A second light came on to reveal the other guitarist, Hyuuga Neiji. He wore a white button up shirt completely undone with the sleeves rolled up, similar to Gaara's, but unlike Gaara he wore a black tank top underneath the collared shirt. He completed the look with a pair of tight fitting jeans and a pair of black Converse. His hair was loose around his shoulders, leaving the black locks to fall freely across his back and shoulders. He played the guitar as well, though unlike his band mate was nodding his head in time with the music as he played his guitar solo.

The music grew even louder as the drummer was revealed with the third light, one Nara Shikamaru. The drummer wore his hair in a high ponytail drawn as tightly back as it would go. Unlike the others, Shikamaru wore no shirt. The lights seemed to highlight his chiseled muscles and enhanced his naturally handsome appearance. He seemed to be less inhibited than the others, for he played his drums with wild abandon that, if one knew him at all, was entirely uncharacteristic of the raven.

The lights went out completely for a second as the sound died down to a much softer tone. Seconds later light flooded the entire room as all of the spotlights scanned the crowd before they settled on the man who stood in the middle of the stage, his head bent with mic in hand as he nodded his head in time with the music. The man's raven hair was styled so that it hung neatly in the front but was a wild mess in the back, giving the singer a wild look that could not have fit him more perfectly. The raven was clad from head to toe in black leather. His pants fit as if he had been poured into them with an equally tight leather vest. The vest showed the slightest bit of stomach when he moved and showcased the raven's muscular arms wonderfully. He completed the ensemble with a fingerless leather glove on one hand and with a pair of boots quite similar to Gaara's, though his were tightly laced up. A choker was added to the outfit; a simple black cord with a small charm of a red and white fan hanging from it.

This man was Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto gaped at the sight before him, doing nothing to stop himself from openly admiring the raven that stood on stage. He did nothing to stop his eyes from raking the singer's leather-clad body as the raven raised his head and began to sing, his voice as deliciously sinful as the rest of him.

_**Milk it for all it's worth**_

_**Make sure you get there first**_

_**The apple of your eye**_

_**A rotten core inside**_

Naruto leaned over towards Sakura, his eyes never leaving the singer's form. "Who the hell _is _that?" Naruto asked, having to near yell to be heard over the crowd. He did nothing to keep the awe from his voice as his eyes trailed the singer as he began to move around the stage.

Sakura smirked, noting the bewitched look on the blond man's face. "That," She replied, pointing to the raven as he raised the mic to his mouth once again, his entire body moving to the beat of the music. "Is Uchiha Sasuke."

_**We are the prisoners**_

_**Things couldn't get much worse**_

_**I've had it up to here**_

_**You know your end is near.**_

Sasuke backed up to where he was even with Neiji and Gaara, the two guitarists joining in with him as he sang the chorus. Sasuke held the mic against his mouth as he sang with reckless abandon, shaking his head as he sang with a passion that Naruto had never heard before.

_**You had to have it all**_

_**Well have you had enough?**_

_**You greedy little bastard**_

_**You will get what you deserve**_

_**When all is said and done**_

_**I will be the one**_

_**To leave you in your misery**_

_**And hate what you've become.**_

Sasuke threw his hands back at the end of the chorus, his death hold on the mic the only thing keeping it in his hand. The guitars and drums continued to play as Sasuke nodded with the music. Shikamaru looked as if he were having a seizure as he played while Neiji's hair was beginning to stick to the sides of his face and neck from the sweat collecting there. Gaara hadn't changed during the performance, though if one looked close enough they would see the smallest of smirks playing on his lips as he played.

_**Intoxicated eyes**_

_**No longer live that life**_

_**You should have learned by now**_

_**I'll burn this whole world down**_

As Sasuke sang Naruto found himself as lost to the music as the crazed fans around him. A glance at Kiba would prove that the brunette was just as into the band's performance as he was. Together they jumped up and down with the rest of the crowd, pumping their fists into the air with wild abandon. Naruto's face split into the silliest of grins when he and Sakura locked eyes, both laughing as they continued to move with the music.

_**I need some peace of mind**_

_**No fear of what's behind**_

_**You think you've won this fight**_

_**You've only lost your mind!**_

Shikamaru hit the drums so hard it nearly deafened those closest to the speakers, but nobody cared. The music grew even louder as the quartet reached the chorus, all of them singing at once. Sasuke stepped towards the edge of the stage, moving so that he was only inches from Naruto. He reached out a hand to the crazy fans that had pressed themselves against the stage, pausing when he came face to face with Naruto.

Two sets of eyes narrowed in recognition.

"You!" Naruto gasped, pointing a finger at Sasuke in a similar manner to the way Kiba had with both Genma and Raidou. From this close of a viewpoint of view Naruto could clearly see the man's face, and it was only now that he recognized the man as the one from before.

Sasuke smirked as he reached out towards one of his screaming fans and took the girl's drink from her, studying it's contents for a moment before took a quick swig. His gaze once again fell on Naruto and he tilted his head to the side in a contemplative manner. "Nice shirt." He drawled before he poured the remains of the drink over Naruto's head. He smirked as Naruto gaped at him, tossing the now empty glass to the floor uncaringly. "Consider us even." He moved back towards the center of the stage, sharing a laugh with Neiji at his antics. The ravens both looked at Naruto and laughed at the dumbfounded look the blond still possessed. With a shake of Sasuke's head, they launched into the chorus.

_**You had to have it all**_

_**Well have you had enough?**_

_**You greedy little bastard **_

_**You'll get what you deserve**_

_**When all is said and done**_

_**I will be the one**_

_**To leave you in your misery**_

_**And hate what you've become**_

Naruto glared at the singer, his thoughts of the man becoming as cold as the drink that now soaked into his clothes. "Bastard!" He yelled, hoping to be heard over the music. He heard Kiba's laughter next to him and shot the brunette a death glare but received no apology from the dog lover. Naruto's scowl faded into a deviant smirk as a thought occurred to him. He turned to the stage, meeting the raven's eyes unflinchingly. "Hey bastard!" He repeated once he was sure he had Sasuke's attention. "If you wanted my shirt off all you had to do was ask!"

And with that Naruto reached down and grabbed the bottom of his orange t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He swung it around once dramatically before throwing it on the stage, next to Sasuke's feet.

Sasuke stared at the shirt, clearly not have expected such a comeback. His gaze shifted from the drenched shirt at his feet to the half naked blond leaning on the stage. As his eyes fell on Naruto's bare chest the slightest hint of a blush began to make it's way across Sasuke's cheeks before he stubbornly lifted his chin and flipped the bird at the blond before returning lifting the mic.

"Anytime." Naruto replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. He was semi-startled to find that he was only half joking.

The music had died down as the bridge began, so those up close to the stage had heard the duo's conversation. Neiji and Shikamaru shared and amused look before Neiji and Gaara began to sing the bridge, Sasuke echoing them instinctively. Even his anger was quickly forgotten as the music began to enshroud him once again, and by the second line Sasuke had lost himself once again.

**(Hold me down) _I will live again_**

**(Hold me down) _I will break it in_**

__**Hold me down) ****_Better in the end_**

_**Hold me down!!**_

Sasuke fell to his knees as he sang the last line, holding the note until his voice gave way. He fisted his free hand in his hair as the band held out the notes, the club falling into utter silence at the intensity displayed by the singer. Just as quickly Sasuke was back on his feet with both hands on the mic, pacing like a caged animal as he sang the chorus the final time.

_**You had to have it all**_

_**Well have you had enough?**_

_**You greedy little bastard**_

_**You'll get what you deserve**_

_**When all is said and done**_

_**I will be the one**_

_**To leave you in your misery **_

_**And hate what you've become.**_

The music reached an impossibly high level as the song drew to an end, the guitars wailed as the drums crashed, repeating the same melody that had begun at the beginning of the song and lasted until the very end. Sasuke raised his mic for a final time, his chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath.

_**Heaven help you!**_

He screamed the last line, his voice nearly breaking from the intensity. The melody played once more and once again Sasuke screamed the line, until with the last drum strike the stage went black, the sound of Sasuke's mic hitting the floor echoing through the club.

Silence fell for a moment before the screams erupted, this time louder than ever before. Naruto couldn't help it; he joined the screaming fans. Even if the singer _did _happen to be a total bastard, even Naruto could not deny that the man had talent. And not just him-- the entire band. He had never seen a drummer like that man with the ponytail. And the guitarists? They were just...damn.

"That was fucking awesome!" Kiba hollered as he pumped his fist in the air, turning towards Naruto. His grin faded slightly. "But what was that with the drink?" He demanded, his hands going to his hips. When the blond avoided his gaze Kiba groaned. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" Naruto snapped defensively at the other's weary tone. "I just bumped into him and my drink spilled on him."

"You're kidding me."

Naruto shook his head. "It was an accident, alright? He said not to worry about it," Naruto frowned, nodding towards where his shirt now lay abandoned on the stage. "But apparently he changed his mind."

"I'll say."

Kiba received a none-too-gentle punch to his arm for that one. "Aw, fuck man! I was just kidding!" The brunette protested, rubbing his assaulted arm sulkily. The sound of laughter beside him drew his attention to the quiet girl that had taken up permanent residence beside him since the concert began. "You think this is funny, eh?" He demanded, though he softened his words with a small grin.

Hinata nodded. "I'm sorry, K-Kiba-san, it's just--" She cut off, covering her mouth with her hands. "Your face was so humorous!"

Kiba grinned. "Humorous? I was thinking more along the lines of handsome..."

Hinata turned a bright red but nodded. "Y-yes, that t-too."

Naruto laughed as the couple both turned matching shades of red, neither having expected Hinata to have said such a thing. It appeared her slip had surprised even herself.

"Awe!" Ino and Sakura cooed together. "Hinata's got a boyfriend!" The girls laughed when Hinata hid her face in embarrassment behind the closest thing she could get her hands on-- which just happened to be Kiba's shirt. Kiba laughed self-consciously and put an arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"C'mon, girls. I've only known her for a couple of hours!" He looked down at the top of Hinata's head, his blush returning full force. "But who knows? Maybe after a while..."

"After a while what?"

All heads turned towards the new voice to find Neiji standing behind the couple with his hands on his hips. "Hinata." He said lowly, causing the young girl to detach herself from Kiba immediately and move towards him. The raven sighed and shook his head. "That isn't what I meant, Hinata." He ammended. "I was merely going to ask who your friend was?" His eyes turned to Kiba, the protective gleam about them turning Kiba's blood to ice.

Hinata paused, dropping her gaze. "A-ano...this is...Kiba-san." She said softly, her eyes darting to the side to look at Kiba and blushing. "K-Kiba-san, this is Neiji-nii-san."

Kiba nodded in sudden understanding. "That would explain a lot." He held his hand out in a friendly gesture. "So you're the big brother she was talking about."

Neiji accepted the extended hand, his hands much colder than his words. "I'm afraid I can't say I've heard Hinata speak of you before."

Kiba laughed. "No, you wouldn't have. We just met, and if it's alright with you, I'd like to meet her again sometime."

Neiji raised an eyebrow at the brunette's forwardness. "Oh really?" He turned his gaze to Hinata only to meet the worst puppy dog eyes he had ever seen from the young Hyuuga. He allowed a small smile. "I guess that could be arranged."

"Thank you Neiji-nii!" Hinata squealed, bowing deeply. "Thank you!"

Neiji shook his head. "Don't thank me yet." He turned his gaze back to Kiba. "If you hurt her, if you look at her wrong, if you lie to her...if you do _anything_ inappropriate to her...I myself will hunt you down." He growled, an almost carnal gleam lighting his eyes. There was no hint of fun nor jest about his voice. Clearly, the Hyuuga was serious.

Kiba gulped, though a glance at Hinata reaffirmed his decision. "Go ahead. If I hurt her I'd deserve every bit of what you'd give me." He said, raising his chin up indignantly in a manner very similar to Naruto. "And I'd gladly accept it."

The Hyuuga shook his head. "Then let's hope there will be no need." He looked up as he saw another member of the band coming. "Ah, Gaara! Where are the others?" He asked, scanning the crowd for Shikamaru and Sasuke.

"Shikamaru refused to leave backstage because "fangirls are too troublesome" and I lost Sasuke in a mob of fans on my way over here." Gaara replied flatly as he joined the group, seeming completely uninterested in the conversation that had been going on.

"You _left _him?" Neiji replied in utter horror.

"Yes, but luckily I'm use to it by now." A third voice piped up.

All eyes turned to find Sasuke moving towards them, looking fairly mussed and yet somehow cool and collected at the same time. He moved his bangs out of his eyes with an arrogant toss of his head before his eyes fell on the blond male who had remained silent throughout the talk between Kiba and Neiji. "Dobe." He acknowledged.

"Dobe?!" Naruto repeated, raising his fist threateningly. "I'm no 'dobe', TEME!"

The Uchiha arched an elegant eyebrow. "Could have fooled me, Usuratonkachi."

Naruto struggled for a comeback, yet only managed to repeat himself. "T-Teme!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Original." He muttered as he twisted the cap off of a bottle of Gem Clear, taking a swig and sighing as the alcohol slid down his already burning throat. He ignored the glares he got from his band mates for his actions and took another swig.

Gaara was the one to snatch the bottle from Sasuke, glaring daggers at the raven even as Sasuke glared right back. "Alcohol is not good for you." He stated in his monotonous voice. "You'll get alcohol poisoning and die."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'll die one way or another. What the hell." He made a grab for his drink but was surprised when a tanned hand grabbed his wrist, squeezing tightly enough to cause Sasuke to wince.

"How the hell can you talk like that?" Naruto demanded, his eyes shadowed by his bangs. "Like dying doesn't phase you in the least?" His grip tightened even further until Sasuke finally jerked his wrist away violently, nearly toppling the blond man over by the sudden movement.

"Because it doesn't." Sasuke replied flatly. "It hasn't for a long time."

The flippant tone in which the raven said such a thing floored Naruto and forced him to take a step back. He stared at the other, even as Sasuke retrieved his bottle of Gem Clear and took another swig before disappearing into the crowd, more than likely to go find some place where he could get drunk in solitude. Naruto was just about to go after the bastard and beat some sense into him when his cellphone began to vibrate. He withdrew his phone and stared at the number, seeing Kiba mirror his actions as he did so. That could only mean one thing.

"**Boys, you've got an assignment." **

R-2-F

Author's Note: And the journey with our favorite boys begins! If you have any questions feel free to leave a review or to message me, but chances are your questions will be answered in upcoming chapters. Thanks for your time, and as always thanks for reading!

Until next time,

R2F


	2. Operation 02

Author's Note: Wow! What an amazing response from the first chapter! It was barely up for two days and we're already a couple of reviews shy of reaching twenty! That's just...wow. I love you guys. Keep it up; You're my inspiration!

Disclaimer: I own nothing; not the characters, not the songs. However, I _do _own this storyline. (And two very adorable Naruto posters, I might add!) The song in this chapter is called "I Devise My Own Demise" by "Papa Roach". Here's a link in case you'd like to listen to the song: www. youtube . com / watch?v7amyj6ucozy . Just remove the spaces and you should be set!

**The Guardian**

**Operation 2: Initiate**

Half an hour later found both Kiba and Naruto waiting outside of their superior's office, one as clueless as the other as to the origins of their sudden summon. Naruto had thankfully donned a shirt prior to their arrival at the Bureau, having found one by some miracle in the back of Kiba's truck. The wrinkled t-shirt was at least semi-presentable if one could ignore the unidentifiable smell that accompanied it. However, it was still better than nothing.

A small woman with black hair emerged from the Director's office, glancing at the two agents as she passed them. Her vision was somewhat hindered as she was carrying a mountain load of books that were stacked taller than she was, but she recognized the two men none the less. "The Director will see you now, Special Agent Uzumaki, Inuzuka." She stated briskly as she deposited her load onto her immaculate desk. The raven haired woman breathed a sigh of relief as she was able to straighten her back completely once again.

Naruto and Kiba nodded and moved to enter the office without a sound. Kiba shut the door behind them and they crossed across the large office to come to stand before a large oak desk in the center of the room. Behind this desk their superior sat with her back to them but it was clear that she knew of their presence by the ever so slight stiffening of her shoulders.

Both men's eyes fell on an half-empty bottle of sake that sat innocently on the edge of the Director's desk. They shared a withering look just as the woman behind the desk spun her chair so that she was facing the two agents. She arched a brow at the look on her subordinates' faces in silent question.

"You've been drinking on the job again, haven't you old hag?"

The 'old hag' narrowed her eyes dangerously and leaned forward, glaring up at the blond agent. "What I do or don't do does not concern you in the least, Agent Uzumaki." She rebuked firmly. "And call me old hag _one more time _and I swear I'll turn your ass in for insubordination! Do you understand?"

Naruto snorted, clearly recognizing the empty threat for what it was. A sharp nudge in his side from his partner silenced the blond, albeit a bit reluctantly. Still, he spoke no further on the subject. They had more important matters to attend to. "I assume you summoned us here for a reason, ma'am?" He inquired in his best 'business voice', although he couldn't help but stress the word 'ma'am' somewhat sarcastically. "Or did you drag us from the bar on our one night off for no reason?"

"Excuse his manners, Director." Kiba muttered, shooting his partner a heated glance in order to silence him. Naruto always had a way with putting the Director in a sour mood; whether it be with crude jokes, 'old hag' comments, or by complicating an assignment. Naruto always found a way. The blond had a knack for pushing all of Tsunade's buttons, and it was always Kiba who suffered the consequences in the end. "Please continue."

Tsunade shot the blond agent a final glare before nodding, choosing to let Naruto's insubordination slide as usual. "Fine." She agreed, somewhat sulkily. She then picked up two folders from her desk that had gone unnoticed by the two agents until then. She held out a folder to each man, her face returning to the familiar scowl that Tsunade possessed when she was serious about something. Her subordinates had dubbed this change her "Director Mode".

"The full details of your assignment can be found in those folders. They contain all essential information for this particular case." She nodded towards the folders in their hands. " I expect you to read every bit of information inside of that folder. Know it, memorize it, be able to recite it backwards and in Russian if you have to-- just know your materials."

"What all is in here?" Naruto inquired skeptically, staring at the thick stack of papers within the folder.

"All known information on a particularly dangerous group of terrorists that we believe are on the move once again."

Kiba and Naruto shared a look. "Who?" Kiba demanded, his eyes narrowing as he began to open his folder.

"Look for yourself."

Kiba did as he was told and opened the folder, his eyes narrowing as he did. On the very top of the stack of papers was an average sized post card depicting an eye with a spinning iris. The symbol was familiar to him somehow, but it was difficult for him to put a finger on exactly how or why. Something about the image struck a chord of fear within him. The feeling startled Kiba; he had not felt such a sense of unease since he had joined the Bureau. That a simple picture could evoke such a feeling was...unsettling, to say the least.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto breathed, having a very similar reaction to that of his partner. He held the postcard in his hand, surveying it with a trained eye yet finding nothing of any significance about it. The postcard had no writing on it; no return address or even the address of the intended sender. It seemed as if it was brand new, even.

"That," Tsunade began with uncharacteristic graveness, "Belongs to a key member of the terrorist group."

Two sets of eyes widened in gradual understanding. Naruto's gaze lowered once more to the picture on the card. Suddenly, something inside his head clicked. "This is the mangekyou." He said with a somewhat haunted voice. He looked at Tsunade in understanding. "The calling card of Uchiha Itachi, the man who killed his entire clan."

"And the alleged leader of the terrorist group known as the Akatuski." Tsunade verified with a nod of her head. "I'm impressed you remembered it at all, Uzumaki. You and Inuzuka both were quite young when these events took place. However, you _were _wrong on one account--" A grim smirk played across her lips. "Uchiha Itachi did _not _slaughter his entire clan." She gestured to the folders in their hands. "Turn to the next page."

The two men followed her instructions, both freezing as their eyes fell on the photograph in their hands. Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the photo of the very man he had spoken to earlier that night; the same man who only hours ago had been on stage at the club and singing his heart out to a room full of screaming fans. However, this was not the same man. There was no way it was possible. The Uchiha Sasuke that Naruto had met that night in the bar could not be the same man as the one in the photograph, because Naruto had never seen anyone look as broken as the man staring back at him from the photo.

"Uchiha...Sasuke."

Tsunade nodded. "For reasons unknown to us at present time, Itachi chose to let his kid brother live." Her brow furrowed at the look on Naruto's face. She chose not to comment on the look in favor of completing the briefing, but the Director had every intention of forcing the blond agent to stay afterwards for a moment so she could speak with him in private. "However, it seems he's changed his mind."

Kiba frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sasuke's agent was the one to report those postcards." Tsunade explained, leaning forward in her chair and placing her elbows on her desk, propping her chin with her hands. "They were mixed in with the band's fan mail. We checked for prints but the letters came up clear. There wasn't even a stamp to collect DNA from."

"Meaning that Itachi must have hand delivered it." Kiba concluded. "But that makes no sense. Why would he risk being seen?"

Naruto pushed away his conflicting thoughts in order to focus on the debriefing. "Maybe he didn't." He said suddenly, causing all eyes to turn towards him. "What if he had someone else do it? A little kid maybe? They're easy to convince and they wouldn't be able to identify him as a member of Akatsuki."

"It is a possibility." Tsunade consented. "However, that doesn't answer our most pressing question-- why now?"

Silence fell across the room at this thought, each person lost in their own theories. It seemed illogical that the Akatuski member would decide to finish the job on a whim. There had to be something significant, something of importance that was going to happen soon. But what was it? The anniversary of the massacre was long past, so that was out of the picture. But what else could it possibly be?

"Alright, so I get what this assignment is about, but what I _don't _get is what you're wanting us to do about it." Kiba finally said. "Besides giving us homework and telling us a little bit about who we're up against, you still haven't given us an actual assignment."

"I was just getting to that." Tsunade looked between both of the agents, her face revealing some sort of internal battle that was being waged. She studied Kiba for several moments before her gaze shifted to Naruto. She scanned the blond for a moment before seeming to draw some sort of conclusion. "You have been assigned to watch over and protect Uchiha Sasuke, and at the same time gather as much intel concerning the Akatsuki as possible."

"What?!" Naruto yelped, his eyes widening. "We're getting stuck with a babysitting job? No way!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy." Tsunade interrupted smoothly. "You are to watch over the Uchiha, yes, but...you are to do so without his knowledge." The Director did nothing to hide her sadistic grin as she watched both men's jaws drop to the floor. Mentally she counted down to five, and with the efficiency of clockwork Naruto began to protest just as she hit 'one'.

"UNDERCOVER?! Are you crazy?!" The blond roared, slamming the folder down on the desk. "It'd be way easier just to go up to that asshole and tell him we're going to be his personal bodyguards and leave it at that!"

"Naruto!" Kiba hissed, elbowing his friend in the side. "What he means ma'am, is that we've...er..sort of _met _the Uchiha prior to the assignment." He shot Naruto a look, seeing the sour expression his friend wore at the mere reminder of the night's events. "Let's just say he and Uzumaki don't mix well."

"I'm not asking you to cook, Agent Inuzuka. I'm asking you to be professional FBI Special Agents, but if that proves to be too much for you then I'll happily reassign the case to more able Agents, such as--"

"We'll do it."

Kiba blinked at his blond partner, having most definitely not been expecting that response from Naruto. "We will?" He repeated blankly, his confusion evident. His frown deepened when he noticed the look in his partner's eyes; that look always meant trouble. Kiba had a bad feeling about all of this.

Naruto nodded firmly, his eyes trained on Tsunade's. "However, Inuzuka had a point. We've met the subject previously, which could complicate going completely undercover." A near tangible air of determination hovered about Naruto now. It seemed he had pushed away his personal feelings on the matter and accepted the inevitable. "What would you have us do?"

Tsunade arched an eyebrow. "Exactly how do you know Uchiha Sasuke, boy?" She demanded suspiciously. The blond Director eyed her subordinate warily, her hands clenching unconsciously. She prayed that the dobe had not screwed up this mission before he had even officially begun it.

Naruto relayed the night's events to his superior, though he left out the part where he removed his shirt and threw it at Sasuke's feet while the raven performed. The blond Agent felt that that particular bit of information Tsunade was better off not knowing.

She was his aunt, after all.

Tsunade sighed heavily and rubbed her temples gingerly. "I'll admit that wasn't as bad as I was afraid it'd be." She raised her eyes to the two Agents standing before her. "So long as the Uchiha has no idea of your vocation we should be in the clear. It complicates things, but it's nothing you two _wonderful _Agents can't work around."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sarcasm in her voice. "It wasn't my fault! Kiba ran off and left me and-"

"Don't blame it on me just because you're too slow." Kiba rebuked snidely.

"I am not!"

"Boys." Tsunade interrupted, a small smile tugging on her lips at the pair's antics. "You can finish your argument on your own time. You're dismissed." Before Naruto could take a step, however, she spoke again. "Agent Uzumaki, if I could have a word with you in private?"

Naruto nodded and remained where he stood, shooting Kiba a glare as the brunette practically pranced away from the room. Sometimes being related to the Director just sucked. You could never get away with anything and the few times that she _did _let things to slide she would hold it over Naruto's head for the next several months.

Tsunade waited until Kiba was well down the hall before speaking. The sound of hiw steps echoed in the empty halls of the Bureau's main office. By this hour most of the staff was gone, save for the few night guards and the odd secretary or agent that was determined to conclude some unfinished business. The sound of Kiba's voice drifted down the empty corridor as he bade Shizune a good night before his footsteps faded away to nothing. When Tsunade spoke again, her voice had softened to a much gentler tone. "Naruto, is there something about this assignment that has you worried?"

Naruto shrugged, sinking into one of the seats opposite of Tsunade. "Not really. I'm just not wild about spending too much time with that bastard Uchiha." He turned his head so that he was looking out the window behind Tsunade's desk, staring into the darkness of the night. His brow furrowed as his thoughts drifted to his last encounter with Sasuke.

"Then why the long face?"

He hesitated a moment before heaving a great sigh. "I don't know. I just don't get him." Naruto admitted grudgingly. His gaze shifted to his hands. "He talked about death as if it didn't phase him at all. It's almost like he wished he was dead...you know?"

"No, I don't." Tsunade replied flatly. "But it's not entirely unlikely. The man watched his family be slaughtered when he was just a kid, after all."

Naruto shook his head. "I just don't get people like that."

"Of course you don't, Naruto." Tsunade leaned forward, placing a hand to the side of her nephew's face. "You value your life above all else because of the sacrifices your mother and father made. It's only logical that such a way of thinking would be beyond you."

Naruto shrugged noncommittally. "I guess." He sighed and forced a smile, raking a hand through his already mussed blond locks. "Forget about it, Baa-chan. I just need to get a good night's sleep is all."

Tsunade recognized her nephew's strained smile for what it really was but chose to let the matter slide. A glance at the clock would reveal the time to be well past midnight and Tsunade herself was beginning to feel the aftereffects of yet another taxing day at work. Now was not the time to press the blond, this much she was sure of. After all, a good night's sleep would probably help to clear Naruto's naturally clouded head.

"Alright, get going then." She agreed, stretching her arms above her head and stifling a yawn. Now that she had noticed the time there was no denying that Tsunade herself was exhausted. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized that her assistant was still at the office as well. The Director would make sure to see to it that Shizune left soon and that she was well compensated for her extra hours spent hard at work.

"You too, Baa-chan." Naruto said as he rose, leaning across the desk and placing a quick peck on his unsuspecting aunt's cheek. He flashed her a quick grin before he turned and left her office, leaving the door open behind him as a reminder of her promise to retire soon as well. He bade Shizune a cheery goodnight before the sound of the heavy front doors reached Tsunade's ears, indicating his departure.

R-2-F

"Hello?"

"I knew you would still be up."

Uchiha Sasuke groaned at the sound of the other man's voice on the other end of the line. He glanced at the clock on his chest of drawers, revealing the time to be well past three in the morning. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his already mussed hair, causing it to stick up in odd directions. "What the hell do you want, Neiji?"

"Besides for you to actually get a decent amount of sleep? Not much. I was just calling to make sure you made it home."

The Uchiha could not resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Stop trying to be my mother, Hyuuga."

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat, then."

"Fuck you."

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the line. "Sasuke, seriously." Neiji said in resignation. Sasuke could easily envision the Hyuuga rubbing at his temples wearily. "Get some sleep."

A long silence stretched out between the two.

"...I'll try."

"That's all I ask."

R-2-F

A knock on the door greeted Naruto early the next morning. The blond sat in the middle of his couch surrounded by countless scattered papers and documents. Naruto glanced at his surroundings and sighed, rising from his seat and tip-toeing through the papers, careful not to step on anything. The feat was much more difficult than the blond had originally expected, but he made it safely to the door without ruining any official documents. By then the knocking had grown most persistent and the visitor was beginning to threaten to break down the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Naruto grumbled as he pulled the door open to find his partner standing on his front doorstep. Under one arm Kiba held a folder that was just short of bursting at the seams and in the other hand he held what appeared to be a bag of donuts. The brunette wore a goofy grin as he took in Naruto's appearance.

"I knew you'd be awake already." He stated offhandedly, brushing past Naruto and letting himself into the blond's house. Kiba glanced around the apartment and eyed the war zone that Naruto called his living room, noting the scattered papers and the laptop that sat on the coffee table, open and apparently recently in use.

He arched an eyebrow. "Exactly how long _have _you been up?"

Naruto shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. "A while." His eyes fell on the bag in Kiba's hand and he snatched it, peering inside of the bag and letting out a happy squeal. He tore into the bag, grabbing a handful of donuts and stuffing what he could in his mouth. The blond sighed happily. "It's not ramen, but it'll do."

Kiba grimaced. "Damn, dude, don't speak with your mouth full like that. It's disgusting."

The blond shrugged and swallowed, taking another bite of his donut and returning to the living room. He felt Kiba's eyes on him as he crept through the minefield surrounding his couch but paid the brunette no mind. Flopping onto the couch and stuffing the rest of the donut into his mouth, Naruto wiped his hands on his jeans and reached for his laptop.

Kiba shook his head and moved to sit in the armchair adjacent to the couch, a donut in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. "I take it you did your homework."

The blond nodded, looking around him and gathering various sheets of papers and stacking them in his lap. "Where do we want to begin?"

"How about the beginning?"

Naruto nodded and leaned back, folding his hands behind his head as he stared at the stealing. "Alright, the beginning it is." He chewed on his lip for a moment as his brow furrowed in thought. "The Uchiha seemed to have a normal childhood—hell, he had it made. His dad was a powerful influence in the business world and his mother was a stay-at-home, his brother was even a damned genius. His family had money, fame, and power. They were livin' the dream."

"Sure," Kiba snorted. "Until his "genius" brother went mental and decided to kill off the entire clan." The brunette shook his head as he flipped through the pictures taken at the crime scene, grimacing at the images before him. "Aunts, uncles, second cousins...he killed them all."

"Except for Sasuke."

"Except for Sasuke." Kiba concented, his frown deepening. He raised his eyes to look at the man who sat adjacent to him on the couch, seeing Naruto mirroring his thoughtful expression. "But why would Itachi leave his little brother alive? Did he have a soft spot for the kid or something?"

Naruto shrugged. "Who knows? But for whatever reason he spared Sasuke and disappeared; but not completely." The blond picked up a thick stack of papers stapled together, flipping through the pages and glancing at it's contents. "The orphanage Uchiha was placed in forced him to see a psychiatrist weekly after the massacre. In the psych's records there are several notes of suspected paranoia."

"Does it get any more specific?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not much more. The psych didn't keep complete records of each session, but he does mention that Sasuke seems to think that his brother visits him at night when everyone else is asleep." He allowed the pages to slip through his hands and watched them fall back into place and settle into a neat stack. "Paranoia's not unlikely in a case like this, but maybe the kid wasn't lying?"

"Maybe he wasn't, but his claims scared away a lot of foster parents." Kiba whistled lowly as he scanned the list of the foster homes Uchiha was shuffled through. "He went through the system more often than I do my laundry!"

Naruto couldn't resist adding a jibe at that. "So _that's _what that smell was." He laughed as he caught the pillow aimed at his head, depositing it on the couch next to him. His smile fell as his thoughts returned to the unfortunate childhood of one Uchiha Sasuke. "He applied for emancipation at the age of fifteen but was denied under claims that he was mentally unstable and as such was incapable of taking care of himself. That was when he was adopted for the final time by a Hatake Kakashi."

"Who remains his legal guardian to this day. Apparently Hatake had what it took to take care of Uchiha, because according to the psychiatrist Sasuke began improving after Hatake took him under his wing." Kiba sighed as he leaned back, staring at the papers in his hands. "Itachi seemed to have had enough of tormenting Sasuke-- for a while, at least."

"So it would seem." Naruto sighed as well. "But that didn't mean that Uchiha wasn't mentally scarred from his brother's influence. His medical records said he attempted suicide twice; once when he was nine and again when he was sixteen. He even tried slitting his wrists while in the hospital with the edge of the battery cover from a remote control."

Kiba shook his head, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "He was a determined kid, I'll give him that."

"That's for sure." Naruto consented.

Kiba glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was nearing one in the afternoon. "Damn, is it seriously that late?!" He yelped, jumping to his feet and stuffing random papers into a folder. The brunette scrambled to gather his things and at the same time retrieve his keys from his pocket.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Naruto blinked, grinning at his friend's antics. "Hot date?"

"Yes!" Kiba yelped as he finally managed to stuff all of his paperwork into the folder and find his keys. "I'm suppose to meet Hinata in an hour at the bakery on Fourth and Grand!"

Naruto shook his head and rose to his feet, stretching his arms over his head and removing the kinks from his back and shoulders. He watched as Kiba made his way towards the door with a small smile. He was happy that Kiba had finally found someone. The brunette was generally pretty awkward with girls, so Naruto was glad to see that he had finally managed to connect with someone.

Kiba was lucky.

"I'll see you later, man!"

"Have fun, lovebird." The blond called in return with a strained smile. Luckily, Kiba was gone before he could take notice of the forced expression, for if the brunette had seen it he would have never left. If there was one thing Naruto could count on Kiba for, it was for always looking out for the blond. They were like brothers- they did everything together. Their partnership was easy.

But then why did Naruto suddenly feel like he was being left behind?

R-2-F

**(I devise my own demise**

**I devise my own demise**

**I devise my own demise**

**I devise my own demise)**

The sound of Gaara's vocals, Shikamaru's drums, and Neiji's amazing rips on the guitar filled the club as the crowd jumped up and down to the sound of the resident band, Fatal Mortality. The lights flashed erratically and caused the entire room to seem as if it was spinning out of control. In the middle of all of this chaos stood Uchiha Sasuke, mic in hand, nodding his head in time with the music.

The music grew in intensity suddenly as Gaara's verse trailed off into a wordless scream and joined Neiji and Shikamaru with his bass. The lights finally blacked out completely before a single light came on, shining directly on the lead singer of the band and giving the audience a first glimpse of the enticing singer. Tonight Sasuke wore yet another pair of skin tight leather pants, though now he wore it with a black trench coat that was left undone and displayed his perfectly toned chest for all of the crowd to see. A cross hung down the center of his chest, hanging from a long black string that was loosely wound around his neck several times.

There was not a person in the room who wasn't drooling over the sensual raven.

_**I can't control everything**_

_**And I can't forget just what I've seen**_

_**And these memories take me away**_

_**To a better place than I am today**_

**(Than I am today)**

Sasuke and Gaara shared a look-- this was their song. Both males grinned as they threw themselves into the chorus that they had written together, the song that summed up their lives so perfectly. Sasuke held the mic against his lips as he sang at the top of his lungs with Gaara as his backup, the redhead's guttural screaming just softer than his own voice.

_**I devise my own demise!**_

_**Here's to life,**_

_**The life I'm losing**_

_**I devise my own demise!**_

_**Here's to life, **_

_**The life I'm losing!**_

Sasuke barely had the time to take a deep breath before the second verse was upon him. His gasped breath could be heard throughout the club, but it only made the fans scream all the louder. There was not a doubt in the room whether or not Sasuke, or any of the other members of the band, were giving the show their all. Each performance by the band was energy filled and left it's audience with an inconsolable adrenaline rush.

_**It's time to say hello goodbye **_

**(Hello goodbye)**

_**To fade away, fade away alone**_

**(Motherfuckit goodbye)**

_**I just want you to take, take me back home**_

**(Take me back home)**

_**To a better place, that I've never known**_

**(That I've never known)**

Shikamaru was hitting the drums like a wild man and Neiji's fingers looked as if they had taken on a mind of their own as they played, the two ravens as lost in the music as their other two band mates. At the front of the stage Sasuke balanced on the edge of the platform, bending his knees as he bounced in time with the music. The fans surrounding him reached for him, but he was always just out of reach.

No one could ever hope to touch a talent such as his.

_**I devise my own demise**_

_**Here's to life, **_

_**The life I'm losing **_

_**I devise my own demise**_

_**Here's to life, **_

_**The life I'm losing**_

The music crescendoed to an earsplitting volume but no one found it in themselves to care. It was truly amazing how bewitching the band could be, and still their charm seemed to increase with every performance. The passion in which Sasuke sang accompanied by the wild abandon in which the others played...it was all so surreal.

Sasuke doubled over as he and Gaara sang, his eyes clenching shut as he gave himself to the music.

_**I can't control everything**_

**(Death is the only way out)**

_**And I can't forget just what I've seen**_

**(Death is the only way out)**

_**These memories take me away**_

_**To a better place than I am today**_

_**I devise my own demise**_

_**Here's to life, **_

_**The life I'm losing**_

_**I devise my own demise**_

_**Here's to life, **_

_**The life I'm losing**_

**(This life I'm losing)**

_**This life I'm losing**_

**(This life I'm losing)**

_**This life I'm living**_

The music came to an abrupt halt, the final strings of the guitars and the ring of the symbols the only sound in the club for the space of a single moment. Everything seemed to go still. The fans held their breaths as the four members of the band all froze. Shikamaru's sticks rested on the head of his drum and on the suspended symbol, Neiji and Gaara's hands hovered over the strings of their guitars, and the mic hung in Sasuke's suddenly limp hand. The only sound in the room was the dying dissonance of the final chord.

Then Sasuke slowly raised the mic to his lips for a final time, his mouth tilted in the smallest of smirks. In this single moment everyone's attention was focused solely on him; not on Uchiha Sasuke, the only surviving Uchiha and the heir to one of the nation's single largest companies, but at the real Uchiha Sasuke. The one who's only solace was in the words he sang to an audience of complete strangers. To Sasuke, this was living.

And he loved every minute of it.

_**I devise my...**_

_**...own demise!**_

R-2-F

**Operation 2: Terminate**

Author's Note: Okay, so the end of this chapter took on a mind of it's own! However, I'll take it! I was originally planning on writing only a little of the show and then switching over to a conversation between the band after the show, but I just couldn't stop myself from finishing it on that final line. I guess this is what people mean by a story writing itself.

Okay, enough with the sappy stuff. I can't believe what an amazing response I received from the first chapter of this! You guys are amazing! I hope you'll stick around as things begin to get moving faster and the plot thickens. I was so excited about the thought of where I'm going to take this story that I began writing the second chapter only minutes after publishing the first. Crazy, huh?

And to those of you who were sharp enough to notice, yes, I did change the band name around. For some reason Mortal Fatality just didn't sound right to me. I was chewing over it at work and I decided that the best thing I could do would be just to switch the words around so that I got "Fatal Mortality", which personally makes a lot more sense. As you can see, Sasuke does not have a very bright outlook on life, and that's where I got the idea for the name of the band. "Fatal Mortality"-- An idea where Mortality in itself is fatal.

I don't know, it worked for me.

Anyways, thanks as always for reading! Don't forget to review!


	3. Operation 03

Prefic Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter was technically done several days ago. I originally sent the docs to my beta to have her proof them but she couldn't open their format on her computer so she had to wait until I resent them the next day to print them off to start to edit them. She managed to finish Nothing Left to Give, but she's yet to have time to get around to this one. As this is the case I decided to go through and attempt to beta my own work so I could get the chapter out to you quicker.

Please excuse any errors you may find!

**The Guardian: Operation Three**

R-2-F

Several days later found the members of Fatal Mortality trudging wearily towards their English Lit class, each member looking as worn as the other. Though the weekend had thankfully been a long one, the group still hadn't managed to catch a moment of downtime. Nights were spent performing at club Lithium while their days were packed with homework and class assignments that not one of the quartet could afford to fail. There had hardly been any time for sleep amongst the chaos that consisted of the boys' "break". Now, as the early morning bells began to ring from the campus clock tower, the four men collectively groaned.

"I can't believe the weekend's over." Shikamaru sighed bitterly as they began to ascend the steps, the raven's hands shoved nonchalantly in his pockets. He was lazily strolling at the back of the group, his eyes turned towards the ceiling as he walked. Miraculously enough the drummer had no problems navigating the halls despite the fact that his attention was focused elsewhere. It was just one of the many quirks of Nara Shikamaru.

Beside the lazy raven Gaara grunted his assent. There was not much of a difference in the redhead's behavior today since Gaara was an insomniac and had been since he was young. To draw attention away from the permanent dark circles present under Gaara's aqua eyes, the bass guitarist wore a black beanie pulled low on his forehead, the symbol for love embroidered above his left eyebrow. Unlike the others, Gaara seemed genuinely unaffected by the weekend's events. Where Sasuke and Neji were both quietly sulking and Shikamaru was grumbling nonstop about their lack of sleep, Gaara merely nodded and attempted to appear like he was marginally interested in what the drummer was saying.

Neji and Sasuke were visibly drained, though both ravens were too proud to allow their exhaustion to show in their movements. Neji looked as immaculate as ever, wearing a pair of neatly pressed khakis and a navy blue turtleneck with his hair neatly straightened and pulled back into a low ponytail. And Sasuke? Well...he looked like Sasuke. Enough said. Simply glancing at the ravens would not alert anyone that they had, in fact, had little to no sleep for the better part of four days.

As the group finally reached their destination they trailed into the classroom one after another, Sasuke leading them towards their usual seats in the back of the classroom. The other three obediently followed their band leader and took their own seats, Neji sitting behind Sasuke, Gaara sitting in front of the singer and Shikamaru sitting next to Gaara. This left a seat open next to Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru. Soon the rest of the class would arrive and the only empty seats would be next to Shikamaru and Sasuke, as most people made a point of avoiding the two of them. While most people avoided Shikamaru because his careless attitude was unnerving at best, Sasuke made a point of intimidating anyone who dared to sit next to him until they finally were forced to move to a different seat. Even the most persistent of people eventually caved in when faced with the infamous "Uchiha Death Glare".

In the space of the next several moments the rest of the class filed into the room, quickly occupying the empty seats and filling the classroom with the gentle buzz of their conversations. As expected, the seats next to Sasuke and Shikamaru were avoided like the plague, while the seat next to Neji was quickly taken by a blond woman named Ino. Ino usually sat next to Neji, beside her friend Sakura, but the two never spoke. During class Neji was intent on the lesson, while prior to the start of class Ino was intent on gossiping with her friends. They coexisted peacefully, each seemingly completely ignorant of the other entirely. That is, if you could ignore the stolen glances between them when one of them wasn't looking.

The teacher finally entered the class, his heavy footsteps somehow managing to break through the excited chatter filling the room. Though some of the students continued to speak amongst themselves, the majority of the class began to pull out their necessary class supplies upon spotting their teacher heading for his desk at the front of the room.

The teacher, a man with skin tanned so darkly and such a powerful frame that he appeared to have stepped right out of an Amazon romance novel, appeared to be no older than in his mid to late thirties. A jagged scar crossed the man's otherwise flawless face, giving him a slightly dangerous look but somehow at the same time causing him to have a very boyish look about him. Dressed causally in a pair of khaki pants and a scarlet button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up just below his elbows and the top several buttons left undone, the handsome teacher completed the look with his chocolate brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail at the top of his head.

The man's name was Umino Iruka.

"Alright everyone, settle down." Iruka gently commanded, depositing his bag beside his desk after retrieving a stack of papers from it. The brunette tapped the papers lightly on the edge of his desk to put them in some semblance of order before directing his full attention to his class. His dark brown eyes scanned the classroom, mentally noting which students were present and which were not.

Even though attendance was not mandatory since the English Lit class was a college course, the teacher liked to keep track of those who put a bit of effort into the class and who made no effort to do so. The teacher nodded, having expected the results his survey of the class rewarded him, and moved to sit on the edge of his desk.

"Settle down, please." Iruka repeated with a hint of exasperation lining his voice, the brunette eying a pair of girls that continued to talk animatedly until they noticed their professor's pointed glare. They fell silent accordingly, each looking properly chastised. Seemingly satisfied, Iruka continued. "Today we will pick up where we left off last Friday." He reached over and clicked on the overhead projector that sat on a stand next to the teacher's desk, the machine humming to life and displaying the title "The Crucible" for all of the class to see. His eyes scanned the class, catching a certain blond student of his doodling on the corner of her notebook paper. A grin spread across Iruka's handsome face. "Ms. Yamanaka, can you give me a brief summary of the story?" He shot her a pointed look. "You _did _read the selection, I trust?"

Ino raised her chin, her unease at being called upon vanishing at the teacher's taunting. "Of course I read it." She rolled her eyes, resting her chin on the back of her hand casually. "The story's about a snotty-nosed bitch accusing a bunch of townspeople of witchcraft and getting them all killed."

The class erupted into laughter at the girl's blunt analysis.

Iruka's shoulders shook with light laughter, though the brunette raised a hand and attempted to hide his mirth behind a gentle cough. However, his smile could not be suppressed. "Thank you for that..._colorful_ synopsis, Ino." His gaze shifted to the raven sitting next to Yamanaka, shaking his head slightly in bemusement. "Neji, will you be so kind as to give us your own thoughts on the book?"

Neji did not so much as bat an eye, straightening slightly in his seat and folding his hands in front of his mouth thoughtfully. "In The Crucible, Hawthorne creates a world filled with mistrust and confusion, a world in which a single word from a young girl can condemn a man to death or grant him salvation. The tale is set in the age of the Puritans where religious glorification was at an all-time high and a solid form of justice had yet to be obtained. Because of this setting Hawthorne is able to weave a web of deceit and betrayal, of confusion and mistrust. He captures the true essence of the Salem Witch Trials as he proves that those who were put to death were condemned by suspicion alone. The tale puts the ultimate decision of honor to the test; should one renounce a sin they did not commit, in doing so lying to themselves and others in order to save their own lives, or is the ultimate sin to remain silent and endure the sentence handed down to you?" Neji leaned back in his seat, seemingly satisfied with his analysis.

Iruka nodded, his raised brows revealing that the teacher was pleased with his student's response. "Very well spoken, Neji." He congratulated with another nod. "With a silver tongue like yours, you could very well become the next Hawthorne, hmm?"

The class laughed once again, this time at the sudden blush that stole across the stoic raven's face at the professor's praise. Neji glared as his fellow band mates turned in their seats to smirk at their friend's discomfort, shooting them all a look that promised them a slow and painful death if they ever again brought up this moment once the class was over. The raven tossed his hair over his shoulder haughtily, averting his gaze to the window as he attempted to school his features.

He seemed completely ignorant of the admiring blue eyes directed his way, and once Neji turned back to the class, the gaze was gone.

"Alright, so can anyone tell me why Nathaniel Hawthorne was compelled to write this?" Iruka picked up a copy of the book from the closest student's desk, pushing himself off of his own desk and beginning to slowly pace around the classroom as he held the book in the air. The professor's mouth lowered into a serious line, all signs of mirth gone.

"Guilt."

Iruka nodded, his gaze falling on a small brunette in the front row. "Exactly right, TenTen. And what could possibly have plagued Hawthorne's conscience so terribly? What was it that ate away at Nathaniel until he finally forced himself to write this book? This tale of a story so dark and sinister that it causes the reader to feel as if they themselves are trapped within it's confines?"

"He was related to one of the judges."

"Exactly!" Iruka exclaimed, depositing the book back on the student's desk. "Hawthorne was the descendant of one of the judges actually involved in the Salem With Trials. He was the very flesh and blood of a man responsible for destroying the lives of thirteen innocent people under the pretense of a simple accusation. He-"

Iruka stopped short as the classroom door was opened and two young men hastily stumbled inside. The teacher did not seem overly fazed by the duo's appearance, though he did seem mildly exasperated.

"How kind of you to join us, boys."

The two men froze under the teacher's sharp gaze. The taller of the two shoved his companion from behind, forcing the blond to step forward and in doing so drawing the professor's full attention to the other man. The blond shot an angry gaze at his friend before returning his gaze sheepishly to his professor's. "Sorry, we got kinda lost." He explained hesitantly as he raised a hand to rub nervously at the back of his neck. "This campus is so big and there's so many buildings..."

"I won't accept your excuses," Iruka cut in smoothly. "However, your apology I _will _take. This time." He shot the tardy pair a pointed look before nodding towards the empty seats towards the back of the classroom. Iruka then moved back to his original position in front of his desk and watched as the two men hurriedly took the miraculously vacant seats. The tight line of the professor's lips revealed the brunette to be torn between annoyance and amusement at the pair's antics as they both fumbled to gather their supplies and situate themselves before they could truly evoke Iruka's wrath.

"Do you two troublemakers have names?"

The blond froze as he was about to open his notebook and shot his friend a nervous glance at being singled out once again. However, his hesitance faded in an instant and he shot a hand in the air. "Ashiya Naruto!" He grinned, lowering his hand before gesturing to the brunette who had taken a seat in front of him and adding in a bored tone, "And that loser's Hyuuga Kiba."

"You ass!" The brunette now known to be named Kiba protested hotly, turning around and throwing his notebook in Naruto's face and at the same time fighting back what looked suspiciously like a blush. The brunette's feral smirk at his friend's indignant shriek caused several of their classmates to laugh. The look faded as Kiba turned to give Iruka an apologetic grin. "Ignore the idiot in the back, professor. My name's Akamaru Kiba."

Something that sounded suspiciously like a snort of laughter came from behind Kiba, but the brunette refused to acknowledge the noise. Instead, he opened his copy of The Crucible and began to flip through the pages innocently. Kiba knew without looking that all of his piers' attention was focused on him and felt his blush rising anew.

Luckily enough, class resumed only moments later and soon the entire incident was forgotten as the discussion continued.

An hour later Iruka dismissed the class, but not before assigning a four page essay on The Crucible due at the end of the week, much to the dismay of his students. The brunette teacher grinned cheekily at the

disbelieving groans of the class and merely waved them on to their next class. It seemed the rumors that the young teacher enjoyed torturing his students by piling on mountain loads of homework each day were not entirely unfounded.

As soon as class was over Naruto turned to the person sitting in the desk next to him with a big grin. "Hey! You're that asshole from the other night, right?"

The "asshole" next to him glared at Naruto from the corner of onyx eyes but did not grace the other's question with a verbal response. However, from the clear glower on the raven's face it was obvious that he had recognized Naruto as well but had chosen to remain silent.

"I'll take that as a definite 'yes'." Naruto continued, seemingly completely unaffected by the Uchiha's glare. He felt several pairs of eyes fixed on him, undoubtedly belonging to Kiba and the other members of Sasuke's band,as all four of them were carefully watching the blond. It was as if they were all silently waiting for a fight to break out between Naruto and Sasuke, but given the last meeting between the pair their caution was not misplaced. Still, Naruto continued as if he noticed none of this. "You know, it's kinda weird seeing you when you're not completely smashed and wailing on stage."

That got the raven's attention. He turned in his seat to fully face Naruto, his onyx eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who was the idiot stripping on stage and ranting like a lunatic, again?" Sasuke demanded cooly, his features schooled into a mask of indifference save for his sharp eyes.

"I don't know, but if you find out get me his number." Naruto grinned with a wink.

Sasuke snorted, rising from his seat with grace befitting of an Uchiha. His movements were a study of fluidity as he stood and shouldered his backpack. Clearly, the raven had decided that their discussion was as good as finished. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed Naruto's eyes rake his form and allowed a small smirk. He doubted the blond was even aware that he was staring.

But in Naruto's defense, how could he not?

Today Sasuke had chosen to wear a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged his legs and ass like a second skin, the fabric torn in several places and the hemming frayed beyond repair, with a black American Eagle shirt that seemed to showcase his muscled arms and chest. A silver necklace hung from around the Uchiha's neck that was decorated with a black and silver cross pendant, which matched the silver rings adorning Sasuke's fingers and the black and white armband that he wore around his left wrist. Black and white checkered Vans and a black studded belt finished off the outfit with a flare.

The Uchiha was simply mouthwatering.

"See something you like, dobe?" Sasuke sneered cockily, staring down his nose at the still-sitting blond.

Naruto, seeing the superior look on that handsome face, rose from his own seat so that he now stood several inches taller than Sasuke. His own smirk surfaced when he noticed the brief flicker of annoyance flash across the older man's face as Sasuke noticed the height difference between them, though the look was quickly schooled. Naruto found he couldn't resist pressing the raven's buttons further and leaned in close so that his mouth was a mere handful of inches away from Sasuke's own. "Maybe I do." He purred seductively, his eyes flicking down towards the Uchiha's lips tellingly. He watched Sasuke haughtily raise his chin, though Naruto doubted that the raven realized just how kissable the gesture made him appear. "Then again," He continued. "Maybe I just see an arrogant bastard."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in an instant and he shoved Naruto back into the nearest desk with a harsh push against the blond's chest. The desk skidded across the floor several feet as Naruto landed in the chair, the blond looking torn between the urge to laugh and the urge to deck the cocky bastard in the face as he pushed himself to his feet once again. Naruto watched Sasuke stepforward menacingly only to be stopped by a pale hand to his chest, holding him at bay.

"Stop this. We will be late to class."

All eyes turned to Gaara who stood next to Sasuke, the redhead's eyes visibly sizing Naruto up and at the same time daring the blond to try and touch Sasuke. Apparently Gaara deemed Naruto harmless for after a moment he turned his back on him in favor of speaking to the raven. This time when he spoke, there was slightly more force evident in his words. "We should go now."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded, meeting Gaara's emotionless gaze momentarily before he turned on his heel and stormed from the classroom, his retreating footsteps seeming too loud in the suddenly quiet room. Despite the fact that their band leader had left the other three members of Fatal Mortality hung back a while longer. All three men had fixed their gaze on Naruto, each holding their own level of danger.

"It would be wise if you distanced yourself from Sasuke." Neji spoke with blunt eloquence, his pale blue eyes boring into Naruto's own bright sapphire.

"We wouldn't want anything troublesome to happen." Shikamaru added monotonously before he turned to catch up with Sasuke, Neji just on his heels. The two ravens were nearly to the door before they realized that Gaara had yet to join them. They paused, turning to regard their friend.

"Come, Gaara." Neji bade in his smooth timbre.

Gaara hesitated for only a moment more before he picked up his guitar and placed the strap around his shoulder, fixing the instrument to his back. He gave Naruto a final piercing stare before he met with the other two ravens, and then the group was gone, leaving Naruto and Kiba alone with Iruka.

"You troublemakers had better get to class." Iruka prodded, his voice holding a stern edge to it. The teacher, though his presence had been initially forgotten, had witnessed the entire scene. Judging by the disapproving glare that he was currently giving the remaining duo, Naruto assumed that it was safe to say that he was none too happy about the encounter.

"Sure thing, professor." Kiba replied hastily. He turned and grabbed Naruto's arm, hauling him from the chair and shoving the blond's bag in the other's hands before moving to exit the classroom. Naruto followed him with a long-suffering sigh, clearly aware of the earful he was going to receive for his actions.

Sure enough, as soon as Kiba and Naruto were outside of the building and not within the immediate hearing range of others, the brunette began his tirate.

"What the hell was that, Naruto?" Kiba demanded hotly as they walked towards their next class, the agent's angry strides nearly twice as long as Naruto's own. Kiba glanced at the blond over his shoulder, sending him a frustrated glare. "You could have compromised the entire mission!"

"I wasn't actually going to kiss him, Kiba."

Kiba stopped and turned, his eyes narrowing even further at the all-too-familiar tone he found in the blond's words. That tone always meant that Nartuo was either hiding something or simply in denial over it. This realization only made Kiba's mood worsen. "Oh really?" The sarcasm in his voice could be heard from miles away. "Because it was pretty clear to everyone in the room that you _wanted _to!"

Naruto's mouth opened and shut several times in shock over his partner's outburst, causing the blond to closely resemble a fish as he sputtered to formulate some sort of response to deny the other's claim. However, he found that he _couldn't. _The realization made Naruto's face darken as the reality of hit him full force. He _had _wanted to kiss the Uchiha back in the classroom.

"Shit." Naruto groaned as he reached a hand up and drug it over his face. He knew that the emotions he felt were stemmed from an entirely physical attraction to the raven haired singer, but even that knowledge did little to comfort him. Uchiha Sasuke was a vital aspect in an undergoing investigation, and no less one that Naruto had been assigned to protect with his life. Any attraction, whether physical or otherwise, was a dangerous complication to the assignment.

"It won't happen again, Kiba." Naruto's voice held a determined edge to it that made his words all the more believable. Whenever Naruto set out to do something, and made an effort to see that it was done correctly, the blond always achieved his adjective. That was what made him an exceptional agent. It was what had earned him this assignment in the first place. "I'll make sure of it."

Kiba nodded and chose to take his partner at his word. He slung an arm casually around Naruto's shoulders as they walked, attempting to break the suddenly dark mood between the two of them. "I can't believe we haven't even been here an entire day and we've already been labeled as "troublemakers"." He joked, laughing as he recalled the stern look they'd received from their first hour teacher. "Did you see that prof's face?"

Naruto reluctantly allowed a chuckle of his own. "Yeah, he looked pretty pissed." He admitted, pushing aside his mental berating for another time. Suddenly, a thought occurred to the blond that caused him to laugh once again, though the sound wasn't nearly as forced this time. He shot Kiba an incredulous look.

"Akamaru?"

Kiba needed no further explanation as he too burst out into laughter. He dropped his arm from the blond's shoulders to rub at the back of his neck in an unconscious gesture he had picked up from his partner. "Shut up, man!" He demanded, his face heating once again as he remembered exactly what Naruto was referring to. "You got me all flustered and I couldn't think of anything!"

Naruto snorted, covering his mouth with his hand as his laughter only grew harder. "So, naturally, the first thing that popped into your empty head was your dog's name?" He shook his head. "Man, that's so you."

"Shut up!"

The two continued on to their next class in a considerably brighter mood, though Kiba occasionally would hit Naruto playfully in the arm in an effort to cease the blond's taunting. Soon, the pair's earlier conversation was forgotten completely as the two FBI agents lost themselves in the feeling of, for the first time in years, being normal young men.

R-2-F

Author's Note: Whew! After countless revisions and three different versions, this chapter is finally done! I'm sorry that it's taken so long to write this, but it seemed I had a major case of "Writer's Slack" for the past couple of months. Yes, I did say "Writer's Slack" and not "Writer's Block". It wasn't that I didn't have any ideas for the stories I've got going right now-- en contraire, every time I would listen to a song I would picture Sasuke singing it on stage. The same can be said for 'Nothing Left to Give', my Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction. I had the ideas, I was just simply too lazy to write them.

So, once again, I'll apologize for the ridiculously long wait for this chapter. I hope you weren't disappointed!


	4. Operation 04

**Disclaimer- **I do not own Naruto nor any of its characters. Similarly, I do not own the song that can be found in this chapter. The song belongs to Hoobastank and is called Crawling Through the Dark. Basically...none of it's mine. Wow, that's depressing.

**Pre-Chap Author's Note: **This chapter is currently unbeta'd. I attempted to go back through the chapter and catch any errors, but as always I'm sure I've missed something. Hopefully I'll get the beta'd version up by the end of the week, but for the sake of getting this chapter out quickly I'm posting the raw version. Feel free to point out any errors you may find. Thanks!

**The Guardian: Operation 04**

**Operation 04: Initiate**

R-2-F

The hallway of the men's dorm building was deserted at the late afternoon hour, only occupied by a lone blond man who was currently walking down the hallway at a snail's pace as he paused to look at each doorway's number before moving on to the next. Once the blond was halfway down the corridor he came to an abrupt halt in front of the door labeled with the brass numbers '48' . The man glanced at a small scrap of paper in his hands and back at the door before nodding and shifting his hold on his large dufflebag began to root around in his pockets. "Keys, keys," he murmured distractedly as he dug in his pockets before finding said object and pulling them out with a triumphant cry. Had anyone else been in the hallway the blond would have undoubtedly earned himself several strange looks, but luckily for him that was not the case.

Naruto reached out and unlocked the door with his free hand and reshouldered his bag before he pushed open the door. He knocked as an afterthought to warn his new roommate of his arrival. "Hey man! Anyone home?" Naruto called as he balanced on one foot in order to kick the door shut behind him. The blond frowned when he realized none of the apartment lights were on. Apparently the other male wasn't home.

"Some welcome." Naruto snorted as he took in his surroundings. He couldn't help but whistle lowly as he took in the "dorm" (which was really a small apartment) and it's modest furnishings. From his place in the entryway Naruto was facing the living room area, and to the left of that was a small nook housing a table with four chairs that served as the 'dining room'. Adjacent to the table was a doorway that led to what appeared to be the kitchen, though from Naruto's current viewpoint the blond couldn't be certain. To his right there was a small hallway with three doors that presumably were the bathroom and two bedrooms. Though small, the layout of the apartment was quite nice, as were it's simple furnishings.

"I could get use to this."

The blond headed down the small hallway and tried the first door he came to only to discover that it led to a medium-sized bathroom. The blond shut the door back and moved to the next door and opened it carefully, just in case his roommate was in fact home and simply hadn't heard his arrival. Clearly the room did belong to the other boy as it had a few personal touches, such as a black satin comforter with a white spiral design and a couple of posters that decorated the wall. Naruto noticed that there were no photos in the room, something that the blond agent deemed strange, but he chose not to give it much thought. His roommate could return at any time and find Naruto in his room-- not exactly the kind of first impression the blond was hoping for.

With that in mind Naruto shut the door and moved to the remaining room, throwing the door open and sighing in relief as he found a mercifully empty room. The blond wasted no time in crossing the room and depositing his bags on the bare mattress. He fell into a heap next to his bags and flopped onto his back to stare at the ceiling above his head. The special agent allowed his eyes to fall shut for a moment as he felt the full weight of his busy day begin to set in, leaving him utterly exhausted. He contemplated making his bed and unpacking his things before taking a shower and turning in for the night.

However, his body seemed to have its own plans and soon Naruto had drifted off into a peaceful sleep, his soft snores the only sound in the apartment.

R-2-F

_I will dedicate_

_And sacrifice my everything_

_For just a second's worth_

_Of how my story's ending_

Tonight Lithium was packed to the brim with customers. Between the bar at the front of the club and the stage at the very back, there was virtually no space left unfilled. Monday nights were always one of the busiest day of the week, second only to Friday and Saturday nights when the line stretched around the street for the better part of two blocks. Three bartenders handled the bar while the residence band had taken their spot on stage, drawing the attention of the audience with a simple stroke of their guitars.

_And I wish I could know_

_If the directions I take _

_And all the choices that I make_

_Won't end up all for nothing_

The lights flashed chaotically making it impossible to focus on any one thing. At the center of the stage Sasuke stood with his hands on a mic which for the moment rested in the microphone stand, the raven nodding his head in time with the music as he sang. The audience caught glimpses of the guitarists standing on either side of the singer and the drummer in the back, but due to the flashing lights it was nearly impossible to make out any more than their outlines.

_Show me what it's for_

_Make me understand it_

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for an answer_

_Is there something more_

_Than what I've been handed? _

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for the answer_

Sasuke took the mic from the stand as the spotlights began to sweep the crowd, the dim stage lighting giving the crowd their first true glimpse of the members of the band. Tonight their outfits were fairly simple, though none the less mouthwatering. Sasuke wore a simple pair of tight black jeans with a sleeveless kimono top that was also black, though the kimono had the outline of a crimson dragon stretching from just above his waistband all the way around to the back of his left shoulder blade. The sides of the shirt were laced up loosely with crimson cords and gave the audience a glimpse of the creamy skin beneath the shirt. It appeared that Sasuke also had several thin streaks of red blended with his black locks, no doubt the results of temporary hair dye. A black ribbon was laced around the singer's right arm and went up to just below his elbow, matching the ribbon around his neck.

_Help me carry on_

_Assure me it's okay to_

_Use my heart and not my eyes_

_To navigate the darkness_

Gaara and Neji were dressed as total opposites in every way. Where Neji wore a simple navy blue tank top and jeans, Gaara wore a flashy white tunic shirt tucked into a pair of skin-tight leather pants. Gaara's beanie was absent for once and the redhead's hair was flipped out dramatically at the ends, whereas Neji's hair hung flat and straight down the raven's back. Even their guitars were opposites, as Gaara's was a dark teal and Neji's was solid white. The two stood together as if they were Ying and Yang, two polar opposites combined to make the perfect duo.

Shikamaru, as always, was the most simply dressed out of the four. The lazy raven never troubled much with his outfit but still somehow managed to look just as good as the others. Tonight Shika had chosen to wear a simple pair of blue jeans with a dark green Ramones shirt layered with a white long sleeved shirt underneath. The drummer's sleeves were pushed up to his elbows as he played, dark eyes narrowed in concentration.

_Will the ending be_

_Ever be coming suddenly_

_And will I ever get to see_

_The ending to my story?_

Sasuke moved to the edge of the stage, stepping out onto the small stretch that allowed him to stand just inside of the crowd. Fans pressed against the platform from all three sides as they all reached for the raven. The music built to a crescendo as the band reached the chorus and Sasuke raised the mic to his lips, holding a hand out to his fans that was just out of their reach.

_Show me what it's for_

_Make me understand it_

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for the answer_

_Is there something more _

_Than what I've been handed_

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for the answer_

Gaara leaned forward as he and Neji played, pressing his lips against the microphone that stood just before the guitarists as he sang the next line, his harsh voice a sharp contrast to the silky timbre of the lead singer.

_So when and how will I know? _

Sasuke turned and reclaimed his spot center stage, replacing the mic in the stand and caressing it as he sang, his lips pressed flush against the metal of the cover. The raven's eyes slid closed sensually as he sang and the others echoed him. The mere sight of the raven making love to the microphone was enough to send the crowd into yet another fit of screams.

_How much further do I have to go?_

_And how much longer 'till I finally know? _

_'Cause I'm looking and I just can't see_

_What's in front of me_

_In front of me! _

Sasuke jerked the mic back into his hand and used the other to throw the stand to the ground as the music silenced for a second, the raven's voice echoing in the suddenly silent club.

_Show me what it's for_

_Make me understand it_

Just as quickly the guitars were playing again and the lights began to flash erratically for the final time. The band built the volume up until it threatened to blow out the speakers and the crowd's cheers grew louder in kind. The noise from the club could be heard from several blocks away as the show drew to it's end.

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for the answer_

_Is there something more_

_Than what I've been handed_

_I've been crawling in the dark_

_Looking for the answer_

And then everything went black.

R-2-F

Sasuke returned to his dorm late that night, still dressed in his concert clothes and smelling strongly of booze. The raven nodded goodbye to Neji and the others as he entered his apartment and dropped his keys unceremoniously on the end table conveniently located next to the door. He stumbled into the kitchen and felt his way around until he found the light switch and flicked it on. Sasuke immediately regretted the action and quickly turned the lights out once again as the lighting did nothing to help his already blurry vision.

With a sigh he stumbled towards his room with every intention of crashing.

That is, until he caught sight of a very wet man standing in nothing but a towel in the hallway.

"What the hell, bastard?!" The man growled as he pulled his towel tighter around his waist. The hallway light was out so Sasuke's form was cast in darkness, but unfortunately for the raven, the light from the bathroom allowed him to recognize his new roommate's form all too easily. Even in Sasuke's drunken state there was no mistaking that shock of ungodly bright blond hair.

The raven groaned, rubbing wearily at his eyes as he felt the beginnings of a migraine forming.

The sound was enough for Naruto to recognize the all-too familiar silky tenor of the singer's voice. Naruto's own face paled considerably as he moved stiffly to turn on the hallway light before he turned to regard his roommate. The blond looked disapprovingly at the clearly drunken raven as he inspected the other's form. "You look like shit." Naruto remarked distastefully, his nose wrinkling when he smelled the alcohol that hung around Sasuke like a perfume. "And you don't smell much better."

"Fuck you." Sasuke growled, using the wall to steady himself while he moved past the blond in hopes of reaching his room. He stumbled as he somehow managed to trip over his own feet, all of the raven's acclaimed grace apparently abandoning Sasuke in his inhibited state. Sasuke's body pitched forward and he only just managed to catch himself on the wall, his head accidentally thumping painfully against the wall and prying a reluctant groan from the singer.

Sasuke turned so that his back was against the wall and slid down into a sitting position as he allowed his eyes to fall shut, clearly intent on sleeping in the hallway since reaching his room seemed to be too much of a feat for him in his current state.

Naruto sighed and took pity on the other. He moved towards the raven and hefted one of Sasuke's arms around his shoulders, pulling Sasuke from the wall easily and pressing him flush against the blond's side. "Shower or bed?" He demanded, his voice holding no sympathy despite the fact that he was aiding the raven.

"Bed." Sasuke slurred, leaning heavily against the other and at the same time attempting to glare at the face that was much too close to his own. However, his futile attempt at a glare soon dissipated as a different look filled Sasuke's onyx eyes. A dark flush swept across the singer's cheeks as Sasuke's drunken mind ran wild with the many different ways that that simple word could be used, some much less appropriate than others. Unconsciously his body shifted closer to Naruto's and the singer allowed his eyes to drift closed once again, lost in the feel of another body so close to his own.

The subtle shift of Sasuke's weight drew Naruto's attention back to the raven's face, and the blond found he had to stifle a groan at the unguarded look he found on the singer's pale features. Even in his inhibited state Sasuke's voice was like silk, and hearing the raven say that simple word did funny things to Naruto's stomach. That, coupled with the singer's undeniably attractive looks, caused Naruto to suddenly regret agreeing to take this assignment.

_Why couldn't the Uchiha be ugly? _Naruto groaned mentally.

The blond shook his head forcefully to dispel such thoughts and began to haul Sasuke's limp form to the room that he knew belonged to the raven. He paused for a moment and shifted his hold on his load so he could open the bedroom door. Naruto's face became flaming red as Sasuke began to unintentionally breathe against the blond's neck and the agent found himself frantically fumbling for the light switch so he could once again shift his hold on the singer.

Without further incident Naruto managed to deposit the raven on hid bed, though admittedly not without accidentally bumping Sasuke's head against his headboard in the process. Sasuke swore softly as he brought a hand up to his aching head and curled in on himself without bothering to get underneath his silken comforter. The raven's eyes clenched shut for a moment and a scowl marred his features. "Idiot," He grumbled around his pillow. "you did that on purpose."

"I did not." Naruto defended half-heartedly as he eyed the other. "Are you going to be okay now, teme?" He added with a sneer, his hands going instinctively to his hips that were still only covered by a flimsy towel.

The only answer Naruto received was the light sound of snoring coming from the raven that had already drifted off to sleep. Naruto shook his head as he stared at Sauske's slumbering form for a moment longer before he moved to his own room to change and get some sleep. It had been a long day, and somehow Naruto had a feeling that tomorrow would be no better.

R-2-F

How right Naruto was.

The next morning the blond was awoken none-too-pleasantly by a glass of ice water being poured over his head. The freezing water jolted Naruto awake in an instant and had the agent darting a hand beneath his pillow as he prepared to defend himself from his unknown assailant. However, the sight of the smirking raven standing next to Naruto's bed had the blond relaxing his grip on the handgun hidden beneath his pillows.

The icy cold of the water as it began to drip down the agent's naked back caused Naruto to involuntarily shiver as he glared daggers at the Uchiha next to his bed.

"Bastard! What the hell was that for?!"

Sasuke made no effort to answer the blond, instead continuing to smirk condescendingly down at Naruto as he watched the him sputter indignantly.

"Don't you know it's bad luck to wake a guy when he's sleeping!?" (1) Naruto continued to rant, his eyes only narrowing as he took in the raven's smirking face. He stood up so that he was looking down at the Uchiha, though even that seemed not to phase the older man. "You bastard, what _is _it with you and pouring drinks over my head? Do you get your kicks that way or something, you ass?"

"Hn, I'm not that desperate, dobe." Sasuke replied smoothly, turning and moving to leave the room with a toss of his head to move his bangs from his eyes. "You'd better hurry or you'll be late for class...again." He added without turning, though Naruto could clearly imagine the smug grin that the Uchiha undoubtedly sported. The blond debated throwing something at the arrogant prick, but he doubted that Tsunade would except the excuse "He was being an ass" as ample reasoning for incapacitating a target he was supposed to be protecting.

With that in mind the drenched agent grabbed a towel to dry himself off with and hurriedly got ready for class.

R-2-F

"Woah, what happened to you?" Kiba grinned upon seeing his brooding partner come storming into the classroom with only seconds to spare. The blond moved past Kiba without acknowledging the brunette's words and dropped heavily into the seat behind Kiba. The other agent grinned as he saw the dark glare his friend was directing at their objective, the glare that the Uchiha was pretending not to even notice.

Kiba couldn't help but laugh.

"Rough night?" He joked, turning in his seat so that he was facing Naruto's desk. He noted his friend's disheveled appearance and set jaw, as well as the frequent glares the blond was sending at a seemingly ignorant raven. Kiba fought back the urge to laugh once again as his partner's angry gaze was directed at him, knowing that it would only make the blond sulk even more if he were to laugh at the other's expense.

With an irritated sigh Naruto retold the former night's events heatedly, the entire time shooting dark glances at a smirking Sasuke.

"So the Uchiha's your roommate, eh?" Kiba asked in clear disbelief. He leaned forward so that his mouth was close to Naruto's ear so that his next words would only be heard by the blond agent. "I wonder how Tsunade managed to rig that arrangement."

Naruto snorted, replying in an equally soft voice. "Probably the same way she enrolled us into the school in the middle of term without submitting any of our records. My guess is she's got connections with the Dean."

"Probably." Kiba assented, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head casually. "The woman's got the entire city held in the palm of her hand."

The duo's laughter was the last sound in the classroom as Iruka called the students' attention in order to begin class.

An hour and a half later Iruka dismissed the class, much to the relief of one "Ashiya" Naruto. The blond let out a cheer as he stood and gathered his books. He couldn't recall a time when he'd been so bored in the last six years of his life. Hell, even going to the Academy to become an agent hadn't been as dull as listening to Iruka drone on about historical literature! However, Naruto's mirth was short lived as the raven sitting beside him snorted derisively at the blond's antics. Naruto spun to point accusingly at Sasuke as he scowled viciously. "Shut your mouth, teme!"

"Make me, dobe." Sasuke drawled disinterestedly, gathering his own books and moving to stand.

"I'm not a dobe!"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow elegantly at the blond's indignant growl. He turned to face Naruto, leaning against the desk behind him as he pretended to seriously study the other for a moment. His dark eyes narrowed in feigned thought as his brow lowered, giving the raven a truly puzzled appearance.

"Really?" He inquired slowly, looking the blond up and down. "You sure look like one to me."

"T-Teme!"

Sasuke pushed away from his desk and turned to Neji and Shikamaru, completely ignoring the sputtering blond as he spoke with the other two ravens. Shikamaru and Neji both cast amused looks at Naruto before looking back to Sasuke. Though the singer was no longer speaking to Naruto, Sasuke's smirk remained planted firmly on pale lips. Upon realizing this both Shikamaru and Neji shared a look that went unnoticed by Sasuke.

Kiba rolled his eyes at Naruto's antics and stood to take the blond by the shoulders, applying enough pressure in his grip to silently warn the blond to watch himself. It was important that both agents remember that they were only there to get close enough to the Uchiha to pry information from him. Though it was easy to get caught up in the feeling of being a normal college student, they had an objective that they were expected to achieve. With that in mind, Kiba released his grip on Naruto's shoulders and moved towards the group of ravens, pasting a grin on his face.

"Hey, sorry about that, man. Ignore the runt." Kiba said with a laugh as he interrupted their conversation without so much as batting an eye. "He gets a bit carried away at times."

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he warily regarded the brunette.

Kiba's grin widened and he extended a hand in greeting towards Sasuke. "Oh, my bad. I'm Kiba."

Sasuke eyed the hand but made no move to accept it, instead nodding in acknowledgment.

Neji shot his friend a glare as he took the offered hand in Sasuke's stead, a polite smile tugging at his lips. "I'm sorry, please excuse my friend's behavior." He amended as he shot Sasuke a pointed glare. "Sasuke tends to forget his manners."

"He doesn't forget them," Shikamaru snorted. "He chooses not to use them."

Sasuke glared at both of his bandmates for their efforts.

Neji pointedly ignored his friend's stare. "It's nice to meet you, Kiba. My name is Neji, and this is Shikamaru," He turned to where the missing member of the band remained in his seat."That over there is Gaara, and of course," His gaze returned to the sulking singer standing beside him. "This is Sasuke."

Kiba nodded at each man in turn, his eyes taking on an amused gleam when he noticed the redhead named Gaara staring emotionlessly at Naruto. The redhead's gaze seemed to have an unnerving effect on the blond agent and Naruto had begun to fidget helplessly while under Gaara's unyieldingly watchful eyes. It was anyone's guess as to whether or not the guitarist was intentionally intimidating the other, but he seemed to be doing an excellent job regardless.

Shikamaru glanced at his watch. "We'd better jet." He said dully, scowling at the miniature clock on his wrist. "If we're late again to Kurenai's class it'll become troublesome."

"Good point," Neji assented, shouldering his backpack and glancing at his own watch. "We did get quite the earful last time." The raven gave Kiba an apologetic look as the band gathered all of their stuff. "I'm sorry to cut our conversation so short, Kiba, but I'm afraid we must be going."

Kiba, slightly offset by the overly polite way in which the other spoke, took a moment to register the long haired raven's words. When he did, he shook his head and laughed while shifting his hold on his own bag. "Hey, it's not a problem. We'd better get moving too." Kiba glanced over his shoulder at Naruto, seeing the blond's look of utter relief upon hearing the others saying their goodbyes. The brunette agent couldn't hold back a grin at that. He turned his attention back to Neji and held out his fist. "Later, man."

Neji didn't so much as hesitate to touch his own fist to the brunettes. "We'll see you around, I'm sure."

Shikamaru nodded his head in the general direction of the other two men before he began to head towards the door, his hands shoved in his pockets and his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Gaara did not so much as spare Naruto and Kiba another glance as he moved to catch up with Shikamaru, and with a heavy sigh Neji followed his bandmates.

Sasuke held back for a moment before moving to join the rest of his friends at a much more sedate pace. The raven walked casually down the row of desks, pausing briefly as he stood directly beside Naruto. With a smirk the singer reached out and placed his hand lightly on Naruto's chest before shoving the blond off of the desk he sat on, causing Naruto to pitch backwards with a surprised cry.

"Later, usuratonkachi."

Naruto growled from his spot on the floor, watching the raven casually saunter from the room while wearing an all-too-pleased smirk on his flawless face. "Bastard!" Naruto yelled, his temper flaring all the more when Sasuke's smirk only widened at his predictable response. The blond remained on the floor, his eyes fixed on the door that the Uchiha was no longer standing in.

So the bastard wanted to play this game, did he?

Naruto's fierce scowl slowly melted into a malicious grin.

This could be fun.

R-2-F

**Operation 04: Terminate **

(1)I stole this saying from Pirates of the Carribean. I don't know why, but I always found it funny. I guess it's just because it's so stupid.

Author's Note: So...this is one of those annoying but necessary chapters where everyone starts to get to know each other. I _hate _writing this kind of a chapter, but I kinda had no choice. Things will be picking up soon as there's more interaction between the characters and such, but for the moment things are having to move dreadfully slow. There should only be one more chapter like this, so don't worry, the story _will _start going somewhere!

As always, please read and review!


	5. Operation 05

**The Guardian**

**Operation 05: Initiate**

When Sasuke returned to his apartment much later that afternoon he was mildly surprised to discover Naruto sitting on the couch and working diligently on his homework. To say that the sight was unexpected would have been an understatement, but then Sasuke reasoned with himself that the moron had to have _some _brains since he managed to get into the college in the first place. This led the raven to silently wonder exactly how smart one was actually required to be for entrance into college these days. After all, if Naruto could get in, couldn't anyone?

The blond in question's head shot up when he heard a soft snicker come from the doorway and his eyes met Sasuke's bemused onyx. Naruto frowned when he noticed the mirth evident in the raven's eyes and quickly scanned his surroundings for anything that might have appeared even remotely amusing to the bastard, only to come up blank. Because of this Naruto arched a single eyebrow cautiously and mouthed an "ok-ay" very slowly before going back to his homework, choosing to ignore the other instead of attempting to figure out the inner workings of one Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke's smirk only grew at the look of confusion he had received from the other before he shook his head and toed off his shoes. He headed for the kitchen in search of something to drink before he himself was forced to focus on his studies. Judging by the sheer amount of homework Iruka and his other professors had assigned him, it was bound to be a while before the raven caught enough of a break to eat anything.

Naruto appeared to have heard Sasuke enter the kitchen, for the raven had barely reached the refrigerator before the blond called out his own order.

"Hey teme, grab me a coke while you're in there."

Sasuke made no noise to acknowledge the other's words since he had absolutely no plans to do as Naruto asked. He grasped the plastic handle and pulled the fridge's door open only to jump back a second later when a carton of milk came tumbling out of the open refrigerator. Sasuke was unable to fully dodge the resulting splash and scowled when he felt the cold liquid seeping into his jeans. He was left standing in a puddle of the spilled milk which was slowly spreading across the kitchen floor.

It was then that Sasuke noticed the string attached to the carton of milk that now dangled innocently from a shelf in the door. Onyx eyes narrowed in understanding just as a roar of laughter sounded from behind him. The raven slowly turned, his eyes silently promising imminent death as he met Naruto's laughing gaze. The blond was nearly doubled over was he clutched his stomach from the ferocity of his laughter, not even attempting to look apologetic.

"Don't you know you're supposed to do that sort of stuff in private, Uchiha?" Naruto snorted, pointing at the wetness covering the front of Sasuke's pants. The raven's resulting look of utter horror sent Naruto into yet another fit of laughter at the singer's expense. Therefore, it was not much of a surprise when Sasuke simply spun on his heel and left the kitchen, disappearing into his room and forgetting his drink.

Suddenly a glass of green tea didn't look so appetizing to the raven.

Naruto shook his head and went to retrieve a mop from the laundry closet and set about cleaning the spill up with quick efficiency. The blond's grin remained firmly on his face as he cleaned, unable to forget the look of utter mortification that Sasuke had worn upon realizing just how bad the stain on his jeans really looked. Even though Naruto had been the one to ultimately clean up the mess made by the prank, the agent surmised that it was worth the trouble. He finished up quickly and left the kitchen, pausing only to retrieve a coke from the refrigerator on his way out.

"Gotcha bitch." He muttered cheekily before returning to his homework.

R-2-F

Several hours later Naruto had still seen no sign of the raven. After the incident with the spilled milk Sasuke had disappeared into his room and still showed no signs of reemerging anytime soon. Even with this being the case Naruto couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry for his actions. If anything, the blond was proud that he had managed to one-up the cocky singer.

_And they say that a hero can save us_

_I'm not going to stand here and wait_

_I'll hold onto the wings of an eagle_

_And watch as they all--_

"Hello?" Naruto greeted with a sigh as he leaned back on the couch, successfully silencing the music that had begun to play loudly on his phone. The blond had taken a second to check who was calling before he had answered so he knew that it was his partner calling him, more than likely concerning something with their current assignment, so he did nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice at being interrupted.

"_You could at least _try _to sound a bit enthusiastic, y'know." _

Naruto sighed and switched the phone to his other ear, balancing it between his chin and shoulder as he reached for his Calculus book so that he could continue with his homework and talk to Kiba at the same time. The blond frowned as he scanned his surroundings for the pen that he seemed to have misplaced only to discover a moment later that he had tucked it behind his ear.

"Cut the crap, Kiba. I'm in the middle of _Calculus _homework, so excuse me if I'm not exactly a ray of sunshine here."

The male on the other end of the line laughed at his partner's tone. _"Point taken, however your homework's gonna have to wait for a bit. Tsunade's got work for us." _

This caught Naruto's attention. The blond agent frowned as he began to chew absently on the cap of his pen in thought. "So soon?" He glanced down at the assignment he had only just managed to start. "Isn't she worried about complicating things?" Naruto chose his wording carefully as he was highly aware of Sasuke's presence in the room just down the hall.

"_Apparently not. It's not anything too big, she just wants us to help her sweep out the garage." _

Naruto frowned for a moment as he mentally translated that. 'Sweep out the garage' probably meant they were going to do a drug sweep in a warehouse, more than likely one that was nearby so that Naruto and Kiba could return to school before the next morning. The thought didn't excite Naruto overly much; Drug busts had a nasty habit of turning real bad real quick. The blond didn't particularly look forward to having to explain away a gunshot wound to his roommate.

"Does she want to kill us?" Naruto groaned as he glanced down the hall, half expecting to see Sasuke standing there blatantly listening to their conversation.

Okay, now he _knew _he was just being paranoid. Like the Uchiha would actually bother to put forth the effort to eavesdrop in on one of Naruto's phone conversations. The singer had made it quite clear that he thought Naruto was a witless wonder and that Sasuke wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Well, other than to mercilessly taunt and tease him, of course.

"_Probably." _ Was Kiba's blunt reply, though it was accompanied by a light chuckle. _"But in any case, get your ass ready to go; we need to leave in an hour." _

"Fine. See you then." Naruto flipped his phone shut without waiting for a reply, cutting anything else Kiba might of said short.

"Well fuck." The blond agent grumbled as he pushed himself off of the couch and tossed his Calculus book on top of the pile of textbooks on the coffee table. Sadly, Naruto had only managed to complete a little over half of his assignments and there was little chance he would have time or the energy after the sweep to finish it all. Definitely not the best way to start off at a new school, but there was little Naruto could do about it.

With a sigh he headed for the shower and began to get ready to go.

R-2-F

"Hey bastard," Naruto greeted as he poked his head inside of Sasuke's room without so much as bothering to knock. He was greeted with the sight of the raven propped up on his bed in the middle of a mess of scattered papers and books. When Sasuke raised his head to acknowledge him Naruto had to fight back a grin upon seeing the singer's ruffled appearance; Sasuke's hair stuck at even odder angles than normal and he had a smudge of ink across the left side of his jaw, which Naruto was sure that the raven was unaware of.

"I'm heading out for a while with Kiba, so try not to miss me too much, kay?"

Sasuke snorted derisively. "As if." He grumbled, his eyes going back to his homework in front of him. The raven's brow furrowed into a deep frown as he looked at the problem he was on and he raised his pen to his mouth and began to tap its cap against his lips absentmindedly. The singer was so absorbed in thought that he didn't even notice that Naruto had let himself into Sasuke's room until the blond sat on the edge of his bed, moving papers to avoid messing them up.

"Need help?" Naruto asked easily as he leaned over to get a look at what Sasuke was working on, in doing so unintentionally invading the other's personal space. The blond's brows furrowed for a moment as he eyed the Japanese History question. He seemed completely oblivious to the scowl he was receiving from the raven next to him, and the ever so slight flush of pale cheeks that accompanied the glower.

"Airfields." Naruto said at least, his voice triumphant.

"What?"

"The Americans invaded Iwo Jima to gain control of their airfields, you know, so that they could reach the mainland to stage their counterstrike after Pearl Harbor."

Sasuke stared at the other, his eyes narrowed slightly in order to hide his shock that the blond had actually known the answer. He wouldn't pretend to know Naruto's schedule but Sasuke was fairly certain that he didn't take Japanese History, so it was unlikely that the other had recently gone over this topic. That the blond could rattle off such facts so easily was...unexpected.

Naruto seemed to read the other's thoughts and grinned, simply answering "It's a movie." to the silent question. He laughed standing up from the bed and straightening his shirt, discreetly making sure that his handgun stayed hidden beneath his shirt where it was tucked into the waistband of his jeans. "You need to get out more, man. Speaking of," Naruto glanced at his watch just as a knock sounded on the front door. "Pfft, he's so predictable."

He shot Sasuke a parting grin and waved over his shoulder as he jogged over to the door, throwing it open to reveal his partner standing in the entryway and looking quite annoyed with him. "What?" He inquired innocently in response to the death glare sent his way. "I was helping Sasuke with his homework."

Kiba arched a brow at this but chose to say nothing, instead jerking his head towards the hallway. "Whatever, let's just get going. I want to get his over with as soon as possible." The brunette grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning on his heels without even waiting to make sure Naruto was following him.

"You and me both." Naruto replied, shutting the door behind him and pocketing his key before moving to catch up with his partner. He fell in step beside Kiba and the two enjoyed a comfortable silence as they made their way to the car, each left with their own thoughts for the time being. Naruto, for his part, let his mind drift back to the raven haired singer he'd left in the apartment and how exactly he was to go about befriending him.

From what Naruto had observed so far, it seemed like it would be near impossible to earn the other's trust. The only people that seemed to have managed to do so were the members of Sasuke's band, and chances were they had known Sasuke before Itachi had gone psychotic and killed their family. However, without Sasuke's trust there was no way he would be able to get the Uchiha to open up to him and tell Naruto the real events that had happened the day that Itachi had turned Sasuke into an orphan.

"So how are things going with the Uchiha?"

Naruto wasn't at all surprised that his partner had managed to read his mind so easily. The blond sighed as he sank into the passenger seat of Kiba's pickup truck, waiting until Kiba had taken his place behind the wheel before he answered. "Not very well." Naruto admitted with a frown. He turned his gaze to look out the window to watch the scenery pass by as Kiba peeled out of the parking lot and pulled out onto the main street.

"Have you been trying?" Kiba inquired levelly, his eyes straying from the road for a second so that he could take in Naruto's reaction. The tell-tale twitch of the blond's eyebrow was all the answer that the other agent needed, and Kiba sighed heavily. "Naruto, don't get caught up in this whole college scene. You're an FBI agent, not a photography major."

"I know that!" Naruto growled as he clenched his hands in his lap in frustration. "It's just a lot harder to get close to the bastard than I thought it would be."

"You actually thought it would be easy?"

Naruto sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest and staring at the ceiling. "A guy can dream, can't he?"

The rest of the ride was made in silence. The two agents once again retreated to their own thoughts, Kiba debating on whether or not it was wise that Naruto was the one expected to get close to the Uchiha, and Naruto wondering once again just how he was going to go about doing so. The pair still hadn't spoken another word to each other when they neared the automotive garage they were suppose to meet their superior at for a quick debriefing.

"We're here." Kiba stated shortly. The brunette leaned across Naruto to open his glove box, where he retrieved a handful of extra bullet clips. He dropped a couple into the blond's lap and straightened once more, swiftly loading his handgun with the new casings. Kiba glanced at Naruto to see the other doing the same. "Tsunade said to meet her here for a quick rundown of the assignment."

The brunette's face split into his familiar grin and the tension between them vanished. "We can't go into a job without knowing who the hell we are, right?"

Naruto let out a bark of laughter. "Heh, I guess not. That could make things a bit awkward, couldn't it?"

"I can just see us now," Kiba began, his facing scrunching in what was supposed to be an impression of someone being serious. "And just who the hell are you two anyways?" He paused, switching roles and putting on his best dumbfounded look. "Uh...good question. Can you give us a minute here? We've got to call our superior and get our names. Thanks, man." Once again Kiba forced his face to appear serious, though the only thing he really managed to do was make himself look constipated. "Of course. Take all the time you need."

The two broke into a fit of laughter.

Naruto shook his head and shoved Kiba in the arm, causing the brunette to lean against the car door and hit his head lightly on the window. "Come on, idiot. We'd better go before the old hag chews us out."

Kiba nodded and tucked his gun in the back of his waistband before climbing out of the car, all traces of jest gone. A glance at Naruto would reveal the same level of severity on the blond's face. The two had slipped into "agent-mode" in the blink of an eye, and the transformation was one that was hard to miss. The pair's eyes met across the car and with a short nod in unison, they both headed for the garage.

As they entered the garage both agent's eyes swept their surroundings with quick efficiency before they fell as one on the only other person in the room, or at least, what they could see of them. The upper half of the man was hidden beneath the body of a 98 Saturn SC2 so that only his legs were visible. The car was suspended so that the mechanic could easily work beneath it, and for a moment the only sound in the shop was the dull metallic clanking of the mechanic working.

Naruto was the one to reveal the pair's presence to the man by loudly clearing his throat.

The noise startled the mechanic and the man attempted to jolt upright, temporarily forgetting that he was still underneath the car and in doing so hitting his head smartly against the underside of the Saturn. His muffled curse echoed from beneath the car as he carefully slid out, one grease covered hand gingerly massaging a bump on the top of his head. A half-spent cigarette dangled from the grumbling man's lips, which he expertly switched from one side of his mouth to the other as he regarded the two men before him.

"Can I help you boys?" The man drawled, lifting a hand and removing the cancer stick from between his lips.

Kiba answered the question easily. "We're here to see about the '07 Maserati."

The man's face revealed nothing, but he nodded sharply. "Nice choice. Alright, follow me."

The mechanic didn't wait to make sure that the other two were doing as instructed before he moved towards a door which led to a long hallway, snatching up a damp towel on his way and wiping the grease off of his hands and face while he walked. He took the duo to the second to last door and paused long enough to knock briefly before pushing the door open and stepping aside so the agents could precede him into the room. The mechanic shut the door behind them, making sure to lock the door.

Once inside the room the duo found themselves face to face with the Director. Tsunade stood behind a folding table that was covered with a wide assortment of weaponry and ammunition, her face emotionless as she set eyes on the two agents. Her gaze lingered on the duo for a moment before shifting to the mechanic that stood beside them.

"Thank you, Asuma." She bade gently, crossing her arms as she leaned against the car that was parked behind her, which was in fact a red Maserati. Her gaze shifted over to Naruto and Kiba and she silently beckoned them closer with a small gesture of her hand. As the two agents came closer Tsunade opened a folder, tossing it on the table where it landed atop the displayed weapons.

"Tonight you're to meet with a group of drug dealers that call themselves "Hidden Mist", lead by a business shark known as Zabuza. The local police have been trying to bust these guys for well over the past year but thus far have been unsuccessful. As this is the case, the Bureau has been asked to step in and take control of the matter."

Tsunade nodded towards the folder, where two fake Ids perched on top of a small mountain of papers. "You are to get in Zabuza's good graces and gather intell on his business. The deadline is this Friday, the 23rd, when Mist is expecting a large shipment from their supplier." The blond raised her eyes to carefully regard each agent in turn. "Now, the only way that this will work is if you weasel your way into gaining Zabuza's trust. He only takes his closest associates with him to the drug drops, and your job is to make sure that both of you are on that dock when the shipment arrives."

"Sounds easy enough." Naruto replied cockily, lacing his hands behind his head so that he was the perfect picture of confidence. "The time restraint is a bit tight, but it's nothing we haven't done before."

"Don't get cocky, brat." Tsunade warned darkly as she absentmindedly began to tap her index finger against the open folder. "This is a tight drug ring, and a damn well dangerous one at that." She retrieved a paper from the folder and held it up, revealing an 8x10 photo of what appeared to be a young girl. "Zabuza has only one weakness; a young man named Haku."

Kiba's eyes looked as if they'd fall from his head at any moment from this new bit of information, and Naruto mirrored his expression perfectly. Both men shared a look before turning their astonished gazes to Tsunade, where they both stumbled to find the correct words.

"That's...a"

"She's...a"

"That was my reaction as well," Tsunade admitted grudgingly. She glanced at the photo in her hand almost bitterly, clearly hating that her first impression had been an inaccurate one. "However, he _is _a he."

She shook her head, returning to her original line of thought. "In any case, your best bet in getting close to Zabuza is by going through Haku. All of Mist's clients initially go through Haku before they get a chance to meet Zabuza. Take advantage of this, charm the man and win him over so that he can put you in good standing with Zabuza. Don't," She shot a dark look at Naruto. "Get on his bad side. He may not look it, but Haku is one of Zabuza's henchmen and as such is undoubtedly a worthy opponent. In other words, _d__on't screw this up_."

Kiba and Naruto nodded simultaneously.

"Alright, so who are we going to be role playing as this time?" Kiba asked, stepping forward and retrieving one of the fake identification cards. His brows rose as he read the name on the card. "Roarke McKenna?"

Naruto followed Kiba's lead and took the remaining card. A glance at the corner of the card would reveal his standard ID picture and information, all of which was unaltered in case of an emergency, before he eyed the name printed neatly on the card. His face scrunched up in distaste as he noted the oddly aristocratic name. "Marcus Adair."

"Don't give me those looks." Tsunade warned, straightening and folding her arms across her massive chest indignantly. "You are both supposed to come from old money, and as such we can't have you going around with rag-tag names like Yuki and Sano."

There were decidedly three snorts of laughter that sounded from various parts of the room.

"Did you seriously just say rag-tag, _grandma_?" Naruto howled, clutching at his sides as his laughter shook his entire body. He bent so that he was nearly doubled over in an attempt to stifle the sharp pains shooting through his stomach as he fought the urge to roll on the ground laughing.

Tsunade flushed a dark red as both agents, as well as the forgotten mechanic, all continued to laugh wildly at her expense. The Director attempted to appear stern as she cleared her throat to try and redirect their attention back to the assignment, but the bright scarlet that stained her cheeks only served to fuel the mens' mirth. With an indignant huff she sat down on the hood of the car behind her and attempted to look properly disdainful.

Kiba was the first to overcome his fit of laughter. He valiantly schooled his features in an effort to return to the topic at hand, but the brunette could not help the toothy smirk that refused to be wiped from his face. Next to him Naruto continued to laugh loudly and Kiba nudged the blond none too gently in the side to get the other agent's attention. He gave his partner a stern glance that had Naruto falling silent as well, though the mechanic known as Asuma continued to chuckle softly. Satisfied with this, Kiba turned suddenly serious eyes to their commander.

"The assignment seems cut and dry enough, but there are a lot of things that don't make sense here." The brunette FBI agent's voice was level, but there was no missing the underlying hint of suspicion accompanying Kiba's words. His sudden severity was contagious, for even Asuma fell silent and the room became uncomfortably tense for the space of several moments as Kiba paused to see if his

superior would volunteer any answers.

She didn't.

"The job appears simple, but as you well know Naruto and myself are already in the middle of an ongoing assignment that demands our constant attention. This leads me to two conclusions; Either A, you are running low on manpower and are having to double all available agent's missions, or B, these drug dealers are somehow connected to our current investigation."

Tsunade laughed lowly, though the sound held little mirth. "Right on target, Inuzuka. The men that Hidden Mist will be meeting with on Friday night are allegedly members of the Akatsuki. At current it is impossible to ascertain this claim, but our sources have assured us that the chances of Akatsuki being on that dock Friday night are near absolute."

"Somehow I don't get the impression that you think we'll be able to apprehend the Akatsuki members, Director. Am I right?"

Tsunade once again mentally cursed the brunette's perceptiveness; although Kiba was thickheaded enough a large majority of the time, when it came to his job he had a tendency to be right on target with his assumptions. It was because of this that the Director always found debriefing the pair of agents before her so tiring. Well, that and the presence of a certain blond nuisance, of course.

"I'm afraid you're correct. The chances of us catching the Akatsuki at all at the exchange are next to none; more than likely they will have caught wind of our plans and will have taken appropriate measures to ensure their identities remain hidden."

"You mean they're going to cover their tracks by killing everyone who shows up for the drop." Naruto concluded bluntly, his voice holding a sour note to it. The blond man's brow was furrowed into a frown as he rubbed his chin in thought. "But how can we stop them?"

"I'm leaving that bit for you two to decide." Tsunade nodded towards Asuma, drawing the pair's attention to the mechanic who once again had faded into the background-- well, that is if one could ignore the smell of smoke that was being emitted from the tip of his cigarette. "Asuma will provide you with transportation befitting of the sons of millionaires, but this time _**don't **_wreck them. Is that understood, boys?"

Both agents nodded, their eyes drifting simultaneously to the Maserati that was parked behind Tsunade.

Asuma held up two sets of keys, dangling either set from his thumbs and forefingers. He smirked as both men's eyes shifted from one set of keys to the other in silent question, the eager look in their eyes reminding the older man of kids inspecting their presents on Christmas morning. "There's a Porsche waiting in the other room." He explained with feigned disinterest, though his indifferent facade was shattered when Naruto lunged forward and grabbed the keys that the mechanic had indicated as belonging to the Porsche. The mechanic laughed at the chagrined look on Kiba's face.

"Why do you always get the coolest cars?!" The brunette demanded hotly, crossing his arms and glaring at Naruto who was now practically bouncing in anticipation of seeing the Porsche.

Naruto grinned, stilling his movements and regarding his partner tellingly. "That's because _I _don't always wreck mine. It would suck to see such a nice car used as scrap metal, don't ya think?"

"Asshole." Muttered Kiba, though there was a distinct grin on his face.

"Boys," Tsunade interrupted firmly, drawing their attention back to her. The Director wore a slightly defeated look as she regarded the two agents, her hand coming to rest against her temples as if attempting to ward off an oncoming headache. "Remember that you are supposed to be the sons of aristocrats-- cut back on the crude language a bit or no one will buy into your stories. Is that understood?"

"Of course, ma'am." Naruto replied cheekily, slipping easily into a British accent. "You needn't worry about a thing."

"It's all taken care of." Kiba added in an accent that was distinctly Irish. "Just give us the address and we be gone."

Tsunade held up a piece of paper containing a scrawled name for them to see. "I'm sure you boys are familiar with this place." She met both of their eyes as they nodded their heads in agreement. "Good. You are to meet Haku at The Accolade at exactly 10:30 tonight."

The two agents shared a glance, both equally aware of the danger zone they were about to place themselves in and both feeling the tingling excitement at the impending venture. If there was anything this particular pair of FBI agents loved, it was a good challenge. However, there was still an ounce of hesitance in Naruto's mind.

"What about the Uchiha?" He demanded suddenly, managing to surprise his superior with his abrupt redirection of questioning. "Is there going to be someone else stationed at the school to watch him while we're gone? Itachi could strike at any time."

"I'm well aware of that, brat." Tsunade admonished, though her eyes held a bit of satisfaction that the blond had not lost sight of the reason behind this assignment. "I've already got someone on it. You just worry about tonight; Uchiha is taken care of."

Naruto and Kiba both nodded.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to Asuma expectantly. "Lead me to my chariot, old man. I've got a date tonight!"

"Yeah, your first and your last." Kiba retorted as he walked casually to the Maserati, though there was no masking the excitement in his eyes as he examined the sports car. The brunette ran a hand across the hood of the crimson car as he neared the door, unlocking it with the clicker in his hand and smiling toothily. He was so absorbed in the car that he didn't even hear his partner's response to his jibe.

"There's a change of clothes for you boys in the front seats of your cars." Tsunade spoke up before Naruto could leave the room. "Oh, and one more thing." She turned to look at both agents in turn, her gaze dead serious though there was a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Try not to get yourselves shot."

**Operation 05: Terminate**

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I know the wait on this chapter has been ridiculously long, and I'm sorry for that, but I actually have had this chapter mostly written for the better part of the past four months. Pretty sad, huh? I forgot that all I had to do was finish off the chapter. Haha I'm so lame!

Wow, the response to this story has been awesome! Even after not updating for so long I would still get reviews or alerts off and on, something that amazed me to no end! Hell, just this last week I think I got at least two new readers who added reviews and alerts. You guys are amazing! Thanks for the feedback; keep it coming!

So what do you guys think of our two favorite agents' mission? Originally I meant for their mission to just be overnight, but then it took on a will of it's own and next thing I know it's going to play a part in the plot! I know, there wasn't much Sasuke in this chapter. Sorry about that! Believe me, the time _will _come.

Thanks again for all the reviews.

See ya next time!

R2F


	6. Operation 06 fixed

**The Guardian**

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I know this took a ridiculously long time in coming. However, I hope it was worth the wait! My life has been so hectic as of late that I'm not even going to pretend to know where all of my time has gone. Apparently, out the window! But thankfully my plot bunnies have started running around again so I have more of a drive to update. Let's hope they keep on goin'! (Anyone got any energizer batteries?)

**Operation 06: Initiate**

R-2-F

It was nearing eight by the time that Naruto found himself pulling into the parking lot of a rather crowded club located in the heart of Downtown Chicago. The blond agent peeled into a parking space outside of said club with practiced ease and threw the Porsche into park as he felt himself beginning to tense up with what he knew were pre-mission jitters. In a couple of minutes Naruto was going to walk through the doors of the Accolade and meet with one of Zabuza Momochi's henchmen. After that he would be taken to one of the back, private rooms so that Naruto could meet with Zabuza's right hand mand, Haku. Kiba would then arrive approximately twenty minutes after Naruto first entered the club so that the two agents would not arouse suspicion by arriving together, though they were to never have met before this meeting where they both just happened to be.

In that twenty minute window, it was solely up to Naruto to ensure the success of the assignment.

Somehow, this thought had been rather discomforting to both agents, though neither dared to voice their fears to their superior. Tsunade had already been unhappy enough when Naruto had delivered his report on how matters were going with the Uchiha. Or rather, that matters weren't _going _at all. Because of this he and Kiba had simply chosen to go along with Tsunade's plan without question.

After all, an angry Tsunade was much more dangerous than any crime lord.

Heaving yet another heavy sigh, Naruto cut the power to his vehicle and withdrew the key from the Porsche's ignition, cutting the car's gentle purr short. He pocketed the small device in the pocket of the slacks that he had been forced to wear. The blond winced when he looked down at his attire, hating the fact that Tsunade had actually made him wear a suit…an Armani suit at that.

After playing dress up doll for the Director, Naruto found he never felt quite like himself.

Reluctantly, Naruto straightened his tie and checked his suit for fuzz or unsightly hair before exiting the safe haven of his vehicle. Since he was impersonating the son of a wealthy British family it was Naruto's job to look his absolute best. He reached forward and tilted the rear-view mirror down so that he could see himself in its reflection and ran a hand quickly through his hair, perfecting the already sculpted blond locks that had taken Tsunade almost a half hour to tame. Naruto paused to flash his reflection his most charming smile, winking at himself cheekily.

"Damn, I look good in a suit."

With that last bit of encouragement Naruto finally climbed out of the car and straightened his suit, earning the stares of many of the women waiting in the line outside of the club. The blond, noticing the attention he was receiving, made a show of brushing imaginary dirt off his jacket's sleeves. He caught the gaze of a brunette woman that was openly drooling over him and gave her a suave wink. The woman's date seemed to notice that her attention was directed elsewhere at that point and made a show of turning his partner so that her back was towards Naruto, shooting a glare over the brunette's turned shoulder at Naruto as he did so.

Shaking his head slightly in an attempt to clear the grin from his face, Naruto finally began to walk towards the club. He easily navigated his way around the waiting line and around to the front door where the red rope broke so that special guests could cut in front of the crowd and enter. As Naruto did just that he paused to give the couple he was cutting off a charming smile that appeared every bit apologetic, earning an understanding nod from the man and an appreciative glance from the woman accompanying him.

As Naruto turned to face the club entrance once again he found himself staring up at the bouncer who pointedly stood between the blond and the door. The bouncer stood with his massive arms crossed across an equally built chest, looking every bit as intimidating as any crime lord's flunky should. Naruto came to a direct stop before the body guard and slipped fully into the role of the sole heir of one of Britain's most wealthy Lords. Naruto leaned in slightly so that the bouncer could hear his words over the crowd without the blond having to raise his voice.

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm here to meet with a man named Haku. Would you be so kind as to let me pass?"

"You're name?" The bouncer demanded warily as his eyes swept Naruto's meticulous form.

"Marcus Adair."

The bouncer immediately straightened his posture and stepped aside with a sweep of his massive arm that was meant to be graceful. "Right this way, Mr. Adair. We've been expecting you."

Naruto nodded his head in and flashed another charming smile towards the bouncer. "Thank you very much, sir."

He began to walk in the indicated direction, leaving behind the crowded entryway to the club and the bipolar bouncer. As he walked Naruto took care to take slow, leisurely strides and to not let his gaze look anything other than mildly interested in his surroundings. In all reality he was memorizing exits and other significant landmarks with each step he took, and at the same time mentally running various methods of escape routes that would be necessary should the meeting turn sour.

Despite the mile-long line waiting at the entrance of the Accolade, the club was surprisingly empty. The few guests that were lucky enough to have gained entry all wore their best attire; The women could be seen in satin gowns and gems that could easily have fed a third-world country while the men wore immaculate suits made of the finest fabrics money could buy. Clearly, this was where the city's best made an appearance to show off their wealth to the other equally rich members of society.

Naruto tugged self-consciously at his string necktie, feeling highly out of place despite his expensive suit and carefully sculpted hair. As an FBI agent there were not many times that he was forced to attend gatherings such as this, and when the odd occasion did occur where such a thing was necessary, Naruto usually found a way to weasel out of the assignment in the end. However, all of those times of playing hooky were now coming back to bite him in the ass. The blond was at a complete loss as to how to act whilst surrounded by high class members of society such as this.

"Mr. Adair."

Naruto froze upon hearing his alias addressed so suddenly. His back stiffened as he forced what he hoped was a look of mild surprise onto his face, slowly turning to face the one who was addressing him. With little effort he summoned a polite smile, making his expression appear all the more sincere. Now that he was facing the other, Naruto realized with a start that he was being addressed by no other than Haku himself.

"Ah! You must be Haku, I presume?" Naruto recovered silkily while making a point of lacing his words with his best British accent. He hoped that his smile didn't appear nearly as forced as it suddenly felt. Naruto found that his throat suddenly felt tight and that his heartbeat had increased tenfold. Actually, the blond would be surprised if Haku couldn't hear his heart hammering in his chest as well as Naruto could.

"You presume correctly." Haku replied, not unkindly, his effeminate features displaying nothing other than polite curiosity as he openly addressed Naruto's appearance. "And it just so happens that my associates have informed me that you are Marcus Adair."

Naruto nodded his head and outstretched his hand in formal greeting. "Right you are." He took care to keep his smile charming and his eyes unveiled, though there was no reason to truly mask his own analytic gaze as Haku made no move to do so of his own. Even as Haku easily took the extended hand in a friendly handshake, it was clear that both men were focusing more on the strength of the other's grip than the courtesies behind the gesture. Despite his overall dainty appearance, Naruto found it would be clear to even the most amaturely trained eye that Haku was far more than he liked to appear. For one, though oversized and billowy in nature, Haku's apparel did little to conceal the noticeable curve of lithe, well toned muscle that lay beneath the thin fabric. The young man was undoubtedly small, that much was for certain, but his lithe form spoke of a formidable amount of strength that Haku no doubt tried to conceal. After all, it was much better for an enemy to underestimate you than to have them know of all your hidden quirks. Even the assassin's eyes, deceptively soft and innocent, held a darker depth to them that no ordinary man could possess.

"If you'll follow me, then, Mr. Adair."

Naruto was broken from his silent scrutiny by the assassin's silky voice. The blond managed to react with the speed worthy of one of the best agents on the FBI's pay roster and made a show of flashing the older man a wink. "Please, call me Marcus."

Haku's face flushed for the space of a heartbeat before his carefully crafted mask was firmly back into place, this time with an edge of annoyance tugging at the corner of his lips. "Very well, _Marcus_. It will be as you wish." The raven's voice still sounded every bit as silky as before, although it too was laced with disdain at Haku's instinctive reaction to Naruto's words.

_Well that answers _that _question, _Naruto mentally gloated as he eyed the flush that continued to stain the other man's cheeks despite his otherwise indifferent mask.

Haku, noticing the other's scrutiny, cleared his throat and raised his chin in an attempt to regain his intimidating air. "If you'll be so kind as to follow me, we'll take our conversation some place more private." Haku intoned emotionlessly, though his eyes remained speculative as they raked Naruto's form.

"Of course." Naruto grinned, stuffing his hands in his pockets in a lazy gesture that was meant to soothe the other man's nerves. The investigation would go nowhere if Naruto managed to scare their sole link to Zabuza away, after all. With this thought in mind, the blond put on his best 'innocent' face and waited for the older man to lead the way further into the club.

With only a moment's hesitation, Haku did just that.

R-2-F

"Hey idiot, you back yet?"

When no answer arose to meet Sasuke's inquiry, the raven chanced opening his door the rest of the way and flicking on the hallway light. The sudden brightness of the hallway caused Sasuke to squint his eyes and earned a groan from the exhausted raven. He'd holed himself up in his room for hours after Naruto's departure, first working on homework and then moving on to putting together a new song for the band. Before Sasuke had even realized it the minutes had turned into hours, and night had long ago given way to early morning. A glance at the clock would reveal the time to be well past two in the morning.

"I'll take that as a no, then." Sasuke intoned dryly as he scratched absentmindedly at the back of his head. He then began to pad barefoot into the kitchen without fear of running into his obnoxious roommate. As he walked, Sasuke was oblivious to the fact that his loose sweatpants had slipped dangerously low onto his hips, giving anyone who could be watching quite a view of his hipbones and the curve of his lower back. He also failed to pay attention to the fact that his hair was sticking in every direction due to countless hours of threading his hands through the black locks in frustration.

Not that any of this mattered, since his roommate was out doing god knows what and Sasuke was thus the only one in the apartment, right?

Wrong.

"Well _someone _looks like they just had a good roll in the hay."

Sasuke spun around in an instant, at the same time throwing open the drawer next to him and rummaging blindly for the revolver that lay hidden beneath the towels in the drawer. His breathing became ragged in the space of a single heartbeat as fear took hold of the raven. In the darkness of the kitchen t was near impossible to discernt he intruder's features. His build was clearly formidable- the sparse light from the hallway was sufficient enough to outline his impressive muscles and give him an even more intimidating air.

Sasuke froze.

Only one thought was capable of going through his mind, and it repeated itself over and over like a mantra in the young Uchiha's head.

_Itachi had finally come for him. _

"…Itachi," he hissed lowly. His hand finally grasped the cool steel of the revolver. Sasuke wasted no time in drawing the weapon and aiming it between where he assumed his brother's eyes were. In the dark it was difficult to tell anything, much less the location of his assailant's forhead. The raven's fear was quickly replaced by cold anger. Standing before Sasuke was the man who was solely responsible for ruining Sasuke's family- no, for runing his _life_. It was because of this man, his _brother_, that Sasuke had become the person he was now. This broken, empty shell of a human.

It was Itachi's fault that he was alone.

Sasuke clicked the safety off of the gun and switched his hold so that he now held the revolver steady with both hands. All those months of target practice with Kakashi were coming back to him, reminding him to tighten his grip, drop his shoulders, and to use both hands to ensure that the bullet hit the target dead on. Sasuke's breathing was ragged as his grip tightened on the trigger, just a hair's breath from firing.

"Woah! Take a chill pill, little bro!"

Light suddenly flooded the kitchen as the intruder switched on the overhead light. For a moment Sasuke was forced to shut his eyes to will away the pain of the sudden switch from darkness to the overly bright light of the florescent bulbs above the sink. He realized in only a second his mistake, but he feared that even that would prove to be a second too late. He overcame his spell and forced his eyes open to retrain his glare on the now revealed face of…

Gaara's brother, Kankuro.

Kankuro's eyes widened comically as he took in Sasuke's defensive stance and then the gun that was trained on his own forehead. The brunette took a step back and raised his hands in what was meant to be a pacifying gesture. "Damn, Sasuke! It's just me!"

Sasuke visibly sagged.

Kankuro, his shock at the raven's greeting making him ramble, launched into a full blown tirade about Sasuke's lack of hospitality skills, never mind that he had _broken into the apartment _in the first place. The oldest Subaku began to pace back and forth across the kitchen, now waving his hands in the air irritably as he preached about gun safety and the fact that Sasuke should never have been allowed o possess one in the first place- homicidal brothers be damned.

Sasuke, of course, ignored all of this.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Subaku?" He bit out, ashamed of the way that his hands were shaking as the traces of adrenaline began to fade. His anger and fear began to give way to the hollowness that Sasuke had become accustomed to, leaving behind a wave of dark bitterness in its wake. Sasuke struggled to lock away all emotion and regain his familiar mask of indifference. However, he did not manage to do so before Kankuro took notice.

Kankuro's face softened as he finally paused to take in the younger man's appearance. Despite the tough front that Sasuke was struggling to put on, the raven's naturally pale skin had lost any color it may once have possessed and his body visibly shook. The young Uchiha's body had gone lax except for his tight grip on the revolver that was now aimed dejectedly at the floor. It appeared that the last traces of adrenaline were the only thing keeping Sasuke standing.

"Sasuke." Kankuro spoke softly, his voice carrying such pity that it was enough to sharpen the younger man's gaze into familiar daggers. The oldest Subaku ignored the half hearted glare aimed his way and slowly closed the distance between himself and the Uchiha. As he walked, Kankuro's eyes never left Sasuke's. The oldest Subaku found that the closer he got to Sasuke, the more his shaking became apparent.

He carefully reached out and took the loaded pistol from Sasuke's frozen fingers, having to gently pry the gun from the raven's hold. Sasuke didn't even seem to realize he was so reluctant to let go of the gun. His eyes had become wise and unseeing. He stared at the entranceway to the kitchen as if expecting Itachi to actually come through the door at any moment, claiming that this was all a joke and that he was simply using Kankuro as a distraction.

It certainly sounded like something the oldest Uchiha would do.

"Where is he?" Sasuke finally whispered, his voice hoarse and shaking as badly as his body. "Where's Itachi? He's here…isn't h-he? He c-came…for me…finally. He…came."

Kankuro's eyes softened marginally at the broken sound of Sasuke's voice. "No one's here but us, Sasuke." he interrupted, though the raven continued to chant his morbid mantra. "Itachi isn't here, Sasuke."

"Not…here?"

Kankuro shook his head grimly. "No, Sasuke. Not here."

"He d-didn't…come…for me."

And that was all the warning that Kankuro got before the young Uchiha collapsed into a heap on the kitchen floor.

R-2-F

"Please, Marcus, have a seat." Haku intoned politely. The raven gestured towards a large, high backed chair that stood in the center of a make-shift circle of chairs. The chairs lined the walls of the small room located in the very back of the club. Clearly, this room was intended for meetings of some sort. However, the various chairs lining the wall only served to make the room appear packed, and gave Naruto a slight feel of claustrophobia.

Haku took a seat himself next to the indicated chair while Naruto was busy gaping at the room around him. The assassin casually crossed his legs and his eyes pointedly flicked from Naruto to the still-empty chair beside him.

Naruto, taking the nonverbal hint, hurriedly moved to take the indicated chair with as much remaining grace as he could muster. Even without looking at the other man Naruto could feel Haku's intent gaze on his own profile. It was all Naruto could do not to fidget under those dark eyes. It took effort to keep his features level so that they revealed nothing, but somehow Naruto managed. He schooled his features so that he seemed nothing more than politely interested in his surroundings.

"So, Marcus," Haku began pleasantly, resting his elbows on the arms of the overstuffed chair and steepling his fingers thoughtfully before him. "Tell me a bit about yourself. I find you're a bit of a mystery to me, and though I do enjoy mysteries, I like a good story even more."

Naruto caught the twinkle in the older man's eyes and was surprised to see the earnestness behind his words. _How's this _kid _wind up as one of the Mafia's most feared assassins? How'd he even get mixed up with Mist in the first place? _Naruto wondered silently. Despite the surprise he was feeling, Naruo did his best to act ignorant of Haku's now searching gaze. It appeared he'd been quiet for too long, and now the agent was forced to act as if his momentary silence had been one filled with thoughts of his past.

"Well," He began slowly, as if preparing to launch into a full retelling of his childhood. "I'm afraid it's a bit of a boring story, actually."

Haku was undaunted and continued to look on curiously. "Let's allow me to be the judge of that, shall we?" Despite the overall gentle tone of the raven's voice, there remained a slight bite to his words.

"Okay…" Naruto conceded hesitantly, his futile attempt at deterring Haku effectively thwarted. "Well, as you may know the Adair family is quite well known in Britain. We have connections with several of the main corporations in the country, so I guess you could say we have a fair amount of leverage in the homeland." Naruto glanced over at Haku, satisfied to note that the assassin appeared to be buying Naruto's every word. "I was raised accordingly, I suppose. I was taught to handle account books, to judge the stock market, and to handle business deals all by the time I was thirteen. I was allowed to sit in on my father's mergers by fifteen and I was an active member in my father's companies by seventeen."

Naruto shrugged, casually placing his hands behind his head and leaning back comfortably in his seat.

"Fascinating." Haku supplied, his voice revealing that he truly seemed to be amused by the blonde's tale. "However, you failed to include in your story how exactly you became involved with clients such as myself, Marcus."

Naruto answered Haku's secretive grin with one of his own. "Now, I don't believe that I said these 'business deals' I took part in were entirely _legal_, did I?"

Haku laughed softly in response to that. "Indeed, you did not."

Naruto's smile remained firmly in place as Haku stood and moved across the room towards what appeared to be a small fridge, which when opened revealed itself to be exactly that. Its shelves were filled with various different bottles of alcohol. Haku bent at the waist to peer into the cooler to observe it's contents, making a soft noise under his breath that Naruto guessed was a thoughtful hum.

"How about a bit of brandy to make ourselves a bit more comfortable?"

Naruto's smile turned into a full blown grin, one that Kiba claimed made him look like he was a fox on the prowl. In an essence, that's exactly what Naruto was at the moment. "I've found things can only take a turn for the better when there's brandy involved."

"Indeed." Haku consented, retrieving the bottle and beginning to pour two glasses.

Just then a knock sounded on the door, drawing both men's attention to the portal that shut off their little meeting room from the rest of the club. A minute later the door opened slowly and a man that Naruto did not recognized leaned into the room politely.

"The other guest has arrived, sir."

Haku's smile turned full blown. "Bring him in then, Mitzu. We were just breaking out the brandy."

Naruto's eyes rose to subtly meet Kiba's as the brunette entered the room, moving with a grace that was completely uncharacteristic of the man Naruto knew as his partner. The blond suppressed a smirk as the formal introductions were made, keeping careful to make his face completely neutral, even as he rose to 'meet' his partner. "Good evening, the name's Adair. Marcus Adair."

He was proud that his voice managed to sound so sincere, and Naruto was certain that his voice gave nothing away. Had it done so, the force behind Kiba's handshake would have been much more fierce.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Adair. My name is Roarke McKenna."

And so the dance began.

R-2-F

"Where is he?" Kakashi demanded, pushing his way past Kankuro and into his ward's dorm. It only took a second before Kakashi's eye fell on where Sasuke was sitting on the couch, curled in on himself defensively and slowly rocking back and forth.

The professor's gaze softened.

"Sasuke." He bade softly as he crossed the room in only a few short strides, completely ignoring Kankuro who continued to stand awkwardly by the door. Upon reaching the couch, Kakashi knelt down before his charge's huddled form and carefully laid a hand on top of Sasuke's head. The young raven visibly flinched at the touch and tried to shy away from Kakashi, but the grey haired man would allow no such thing. His hand dropped to Sasuke's shoulder and Kakashi used that hold to draw his ward to him.

Sasuke made a move to struggle but his balance was already overturned and he fell hard against Kakashi, nearly sending them both to the floor as a result. However, Kakashi quickly compensated for Sasuke's added weight and managed to balance them both. At first Sasuke remained completely rigid against his guardian, but Kakashi's steady breathing served to slowly soothe the raven's panic. As Sasuke's breathing began to calm the remains of his self control began to ebb away, reducing the Uchiha into a trembling mess.

"It's alright, Sasuke. I won't let him get you." Kakashi chanted softly, beginning to rock the younger man slightly and cupping the back of Sasuke's head securely in his palm. "Itachi can't hurt you. You're okay."

Those comforting words were all it took to send Sasuke over the edge. His hands shot out to grip frantically at the cloth of Kakashi's shirt and he clung to his guardian for dear life. Tremors shook the raven's body as he allowed himself to give into the fear that had poisoned his mind. Sasuke knew that Kakashi would never acknowledge the wetness that was already sinking into the fabric of the older man's shirt as a result of Sasuke's silent tears.

Sasuke's tears had always been their little secret.

The sound of the door opening and closing for a second time was enough to draw Kakashi's attention away from his ward, though he went back to the task of soothing Sasuke the moment he saw the familiar faces of the three other members of Sasuke's band- all of whom looked positively homicidal upon laying eyes on their broken bandmate.

"What the _hell _did you _do_?" Gaara growled in an uncharacteristic display of open rage. He whirled on his older brother with narrowed eyes that had turned sapphire with anger.

Kankuro cowered under the collective glares sent his way. "I didn't mean to scare him! … Okay, so maybe I did-" The glares all darkened. "- but not this bad! I just wanted to borrow his stereo system for this party-"

Neji looked positively murderous. "You broke into Sasuke's apartment and threw him into an emotional relapse over _sound equipment_?"

"No! Well, yeah, kinda. But that wasn't my intention-"

"Intention or not you achieved it." Shikamaru interjected flatly. "Well done."

"Yeah, but-"

"You realize that you could have been shot?" Gaara inquired darkly, his voice shaking in anger. "Though it's no less than you would have deserved, you fool."

"Hey-!"

"Gaara really has a point." Neji continued cooly, cutting Kankuro's sputtering off once again. "I almost wish you _had _been shot, simply so you would pay adequately for putting Sasuke through this."

"I'm inclined to agree." Shikmaru admitted without so much as a hint of remorse. "But then Sasuke would feel even _worse _for shooting a _friend_, so that would be a bit counter productive."

"But then again, what kind of _friend _would knowingly send another _friend _into a panic attack?" Neji demanded relentlessly. "And over _sound equipment_, no less?"

"A shitty one." Gaara and Shikamaru replied in unison, their voices simply matter of fact.

Kankuro hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry." He said softly to the room at large. His eyes were fixed on the floor to avoid looking the others in the eye. He knew they were right- it was stupid of him to act so thoughtlessly where Sasuke was concerned. Kankuro knew the raven's past all too well and he hadn't even considered how sneaking up on Sasuke would cause his friend to react.

Kankuro had really messed up this time, and he knew it.

"Boys, I think you've said more than enough." Kakashi interjected gently before anyone could speak another word. His arms were still full with Sasuke, but Kakashi was relieved to find that his ward's trembling had all but ceased. It meant that the singer was slowly but surely pulling past the shock that had so firmly gripped him. "I thought you were here to see Sasuke? Or was I mistaken?"

There was no missing the threat beneath those falsely cheerful words.

Shikamaru, Neji, and Gaara all seemed to deflate as if just now remembering the truth of that statement. They moved as one across the tiny living room and towards their friend, coming to a halt just in front of the couch.

"Hey, Sasuke." Neji called softly, as if unsure whether or not it was wise to disturb his friend. The Hyuuga's eyes visibly softened as he took in Sasuke's bent form, though the singer's face was still mostly hidden behind Kakashi's shoulder. "How're you holdin' up?"

"I should think that'd be obvious." Shikamaru snapped as he took a seat on the couch next to Sasuke and Kakashi. He placed a hand soothingly on the raven's back.

"Of course it's obvious, moron. He's trembling like a leaf." Gaara growled, taking a seat on the arm of the couch next to Shikamaru. He pretended to be completely oblivious to the dark glare that the drummer sent his way, causing Shikamaru to resort to physical retaliation which ended in Gaara nearly falling off of his perch on the arm of the couch.

"Boys." Kakashi scolded softly, the finest hint of steel in his voice. He looked up and caught all three men's gazes in tern, his eye just as sharp as his voice. "If you can't behave, get out."

All three band members simultaneously snapped their mouths shut.

Sasuke, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to everything that was going on around him and was content just to lean against his guardian and allow Kakashi's steady breathing to lull him to sleep. He knew that the other members of the band were in the room, and he was slightly aware of Kankuro's awkward presence, but nothing seemed to mean anything to him at the moment. Everything was a nice, white haze where Sasuke had distanced himself from his surroundings. He was vaguely aware that there was conversation surrounding him that was being carried on in hushed tones, but the words refused to form themselves in his mind and just remained soft murmurs.

The only thing that Sasuke was certain of in that moment was Kakashi's presence, because with Kakashi came the foreign feeling of relative safety that Sasuke had sorely missed since moving into the campus dorm. Why had he moved out in the first place? The reason escaped Sasuke as he felt Kakshi shift his hold on his body, moving so that Kakashi was sitting on the couch with Sasuke curled against his chest securely. Sasuke was pretty sure that his feet were in Neji's lap at the moment, but his mind was too far away to care much.

All that mattered was that, for the moment, Sasuke felt safe.

**Operation 06: Terminate**


	7. Operation 07

**The Guardian**

Disclaimer: The songs mentioned in this chapter do NOT belong to me! This chapter contains a clip from 3 Doors Down "When I'm Gone" and also Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe".

**Operation 07: Initiate**

By the time Naruto returned to the student apartments it was only a few hours before the sun was going to rise, and the darkness was already beginning to give way to the murky predawn light. It was with a heavy sigh that the blond pushed open the door to his own dorm, taking care not to let the door creak for fear of waking his roommate with his late return. He quickly stepped inside and closed the door softly, making sure to lock both the deadbolt and the door knob, before allowing himself to relax and drop his bag in the arm chair that was adjacent to the door.

Before the bag could even land on the soft cushion of the chair, however, sounds coming from the back of the apartment had him tensing and instantly alert. The blonde's brow furrowed and his hand dropped absently to the back of his jeans where he kept his gun tucked into the waistband of his pants as he started across the living room. His fingers curled around the butt of the gun and he withdrew it slowly, taking care to keep it hidden behind his back as he began to inch forward and down the small hallway.

Naruto felt a surge of panic as he realized the sounds were coming from Sasuke's room, and at this close range he could almost make out the words of the raven's helpless pleas. He felt the blood run cold in his veins as he finally made sense out of the randomized garble coming from the room.

"_No…. Itachi...p-please, don't! Leave…'m….a-alone! STOP IT!"_

Naruto shoved all his weight against Sasuke's door with enough force to cause it to fly open and smack against the wall behind it. The door then closed once again without any assistance from him, and by that time Naruto had already drawn his weapon. He quickly scanned the room for signs of Itachi, but frowned when the only person besides himself in the room appeared to be Sasuke.

A quick glance at the window would prove that it had been securely shut and locked, preventing both entry and escape, and Naruto was blocking the door that served as the only other means of exit from the singer's room. Sasuke's closet was standing wide open and a quick glance gave him a clear view of its contents, which did not happen to include a wanted murderer, but instead held more clothes than Naruto could recall ever having owned in his entire life. His eyes fell once again on the raven's bed, where Sasuke lay amid a fierce tangle of sheets and pillows.

Naruto's stance finally relaxed when he saw that Sasuke was still deeply asleep, and apparently, just dreaming. Still wary due to the experiences belonging only to an FBI agent, Naruto lowered his gun but did not yet put it away as he neared the singer's bed with nearly silent steps. He quietly came to a stop when he reached the edge of the mattress and simply looked down at the other sleeping male.

Sasuke's entire body shone with a light sheen of sweat that was no doubt the result of the nightmare that he was currently ensnared within, and his hair was in utter disarray as he tossed his head fitfully 

from side to side. His limbs flailed wildly from time to time as he tossed and turned, attempting to physically ward off the memory of his murderous brother. Pale hands clenched in the sheets at his sides, and Naruto found himself reaching out and taking one of those shaking hands with his own.

Immediately, Sasuke's movements stilled as if he were awaiting a blow. Naruto's breath caught as he waited to see if the raven would wake and throttle the blond for daring to enter his room and even more so for touching him, but he was pleasantly surprised when instead the raven's body slowly began to relax one muscle at a time. Naruto felt the hand beneath his turn over and grip his own hand tightly, desperately even. A sad smile tugged at the agent's lips and he gave the pale hand a reassuring squeeze. He allowed their hands to remain linked as the raven slowly fell into what appeared to be a more tranquil state of sleep.

Naruto finally slipped his gun back into his waistband with his free hand. He frowned, suddenly realizing that he wasn't quite sure how to extract himself from Sasuke's hold. The blond gave a subtle tug at his hand and was surprised to earn a distraught moan from the sleeping man. Quickly, Naruto relaxed his hold and allowed Sasuke to pull their joined hands closer to the raven's body, watching as Sasuke nearly curled around their hands in an unconscious attempt to keep his source of apparent comfort close.

Shaking his head and once again allowing a pitying smile, Naruto lowered himself to his knees on the side of the bed, propping the elbow of his right arm- the one that Sasuke was currently pressing his face against as if it were a pillow- and managed to maneuver himself into a reasonably comfortable sitting position. He rested his head against the edge of the mattress and allowed his shoulders to sag as the full weight of the day's activities pressed against him and caused his eyelids to droop.

In only a matter of moments, Naruto had joined Sasuke in a very much deserved sleep.

R-2-F

The next morning when Sasuke awoke he immediately could feel that something was amiss. He took care to make sure his breathing remained even, despite his suddenly racing heart, and kept his eyes closed. Taking mental stock of his surroundings, he struggled to put a finger on what exactly was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand at end, but try as he might, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was out of place.

Finally, he noticed a weight against his hand that had the raven's eyes flying open in fear. He scrambled away from the sensation only to find himself pressed flat against the wall beside his bed. His panicked onyx eyes swept the room frantically, flitting from side to side before doing a double take and fixing on something directly in front of Sasuke.

He stared at the blond man that sat beside his bed, leaning against it with one arm spread across the mattress and his head tilted at an odd angle against the edge of the mattress. Even in sleep, his body 

was utterly rigid as if he were poised to attack at any moment despite the fact that his face was completely relaxed with sleep. A light snore came rumbling from the impressive chest at random intervals, giving the surprisingly strongly built man a softer aura that caused him to appear not threatening, but comforting instead.

Sasuke worked to keep his jaw from dropping as he realized that Naruto was asleep in the floor beside his bed, and in one of the most uncomfortable positions that Sasuke had ever seen. He frowned, his thoughts for some reason straying first not to why Naruto was even in his room in the first place, but to why the blond would be sleeping in such an obviously uncomfortable position.

Then Sasuke realized that the reason for the blonde's arm to be stretched across the bed at such an odd angle was because Sasuke had jerked it into that position. Blood raced to the raven's face as he realized that their hands were tightly linked, and even more so when he realized that it was Sasuke's grip on Naruto's hand that was keeping the blond there.

Sasuke immediately released Naruto's hand as if it were on fire, his face rivaling the color of a tomato as he fought to regain his composure. He had drawn breath to yell at the blond and startle him from his apparently deep sleep, when the singer came to an abrupt halt. All the air rushed from his lungs as he wondered, a bit belatedly, why Naruto was in his room in the first place.

And then Sasuke remembered bits of his nightmare, and everything clicked into place.

A new feeling, one that Sasuke wasn't very familiar with, now tugged at the raven and caused his chest to tighten. That the blond had seemingly come to comfort Sasuke at some point during the night, despite the raven's open hostility with Naruto, was a surprise that Sasuke wasn't sure how to handle. Even more, that Naruto had stayed with him throughout the remainder of the night and even sacrificed a good night's sleep to do so was an idea that Sasuke simply couldn't wrap his mind around.

Unable to deal with the reality of what he was seeing, Sasuke retreated carefully from his bed and quickly grabbed a random shirt and pair of pants and left to take a shower. He had a band rehearsal to attend at noon and found himself willing to get there a bit early to practice on his own for a while. In fact, he found himself needing the distraction more than he'd thought could be possible.

He would deal with a certain annoying, immature, arrogant, and completely unpredictable blond later.

R-2-F

"Well you're certainly here early." Neji commented airily as he arrived at Lithium, finding his fellow bandmate already center stage and practicing on his own. Though it was a rare occurrence, Sasuke had his guitar out and was perched on a stool before the microphone stand that was placed directly in the 

center of the stage. The younger raven looked up in surprise as Neji began to cross the empty bar to join him on stage.

"I'm not the only one." Sasuke remarked dryly, lowering his pick and stopping the chords from his guitar with a swift dampening of the strings. There were dark circles under the singer's eyes that Sasuke had done nothing to hide just yet, and it showed clearly that the raven was just as exhausted as he felt. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he noted the concern that crossed Neji's features upon apparently recognizing Sasuke's fatigue.

"I'm fine." He answered before Neji could so much as open his mouth.

The older raven came to a stop at the edge of the stage directly in front of Sasuke and arched one elegant eyebrow in clear disdain. "Of course, Sasuke." He replied without an ounce of emotion, though his eyes spoke volumes. Thankfully though, Neji did not comment on Sasuke's apparent exhaustion and instead just began to setup in his usual spot to Sasuke's left.

Shaking his head in annoyance, Sasuke began to play once again. He strummed his guitar gently once, closing his eyes and appearing to lose himself within the sound for a moment. Then his hand lifted again and he began to slowly play, his eyes opening only slightly.

_There's another world inside of me that you may never see_

_There's secrets in this life that I can't hide_

_Well somewhere in this darkness there's a light that I can't find_

_Well maybe it's too far away_

_Or maybe I'm just blind_

Sasuke allowed the chord to die away and looked to Neji, silently asking the other raven's opinion. A small smile tugged unwillingly at the corner of Sasuke's lips at the approving nod he received. He quickly looked down to hide the surge of pride he felt, distracting himself momentarily by tuning his acoustic guitar. He was ignorant of the amused smile that Neji sported for the next several minutes until the two began to practice for the following night's performance.

R-2-F

Only a handful of hours later found Lithium once again packed to the brim as Fatal Mortality performed. Tonight the bar was lined with patrons, though Genma seemed completely unaffected by the impatient line as he continued to fill drink orders at his usual leisurely pace. Raidou was keeping an eye on the door to make sure that there was no trouble as the line outside was quite upset that they were missing the main event. However, as the club was now operating at nearly full capacity there was very little that could be done to appease them.

Inside the crowd chattered anxiously as they prepared for the upcoming show. For a Tuesday, a crowd such as this one was generally unheard of for both clubs and bars alike, however, most clubs didn't have an attraction like Fatal Mortality to draw in customers like moths to a flame.

And that very flame had just stepped onto the stage, once again wearing clothes that clung to his frame from head to toe and causing all of the women, and even some of the men, to water at the mouth after just a glimpse of the singer. Tonight Sasuke had chosen to wear traditional leather pants with a skin tight sweater that shoved off every curve of his sculpted chest and abs, but the raven managed to make such a simple ensemble look as if it belonged on the front page of Vogue.

"Hey everyone thanks for ditching the text books and comin' out tonight." Sasuke began with a smirk, shocking the audience into silence with a single word. Never had the raven addressed his crowd before, and rarely even after, a show. As a rule he showed up, sang his heart out, and disappeared. His welcoming manner instantly had the attention of every single person in the club, including a familiar blonde that was standing near the stage and whose blue eyes were intently studying Sasuke. "I have a little secret for you guys…" He trailed off with a grin that was nearly impish in its mirth, and he paused for the length of several minutes just to keep his captivated audience hanging.

"As of today…Mortal Fatality has officially been picked up by Konoha Records. We're finally official!"

The cheers were deafening as the rest of the band came on stage to stand beside Sasuke, each of their grins- even Gaara's- mirroring Sasuke's. To see such a typically cool group of men grinning like kids was enough to once again stun the crowd into silence, but that only lasted for the space of a moment.

Once Sasuke's words sank in, the roar from the crowd was deafening.

Shikamaru pumped a fist into the air at the crowd's reaction while the other men all nodded their thanks to the vivacious crowd. Their excitement seemed to spread throughout the club as the crowd realized that the band was finally going big. Stomping, clapping, whooping and hollering ensued, causing it to be several minutes before the boys even attempted to speak again.

Neji finally held up a quieting hand as he held up his own microphone, a small grin still pulling at the corners of his mouth. He waited until the last of the murmuring had died down before he raised the mic the rest of the way to his lips. "Our first single is expected to hit stores sometime before Christmas, so be sure and buy one while you can." The long haired raven smirked. "They're going to go fast, I assure you."

There were several laughs at this.

Gaara, this time, spoke. "However, we will not be leaving Lithium just yet. The owners, Genma and Raidou, have spoken with our new _agent _and have made arrangements for our debut show to be held here, right at the club." Though mostly monotonous, even Gaara's words seemed to hold the slightest edge of excitement and his teal eyes sparkled in the light.

The crowd, as expected, erupted into cheers at this news and many people pressed around the two owners to personally thank the men for helping arrange such a feat. The four men on stage allowed the crowd to carry on amongst themselves while they exchanged a quiet word amongst themselves. They seemed to argue over who would speak next, but Shikamaru seemed dead set against addressing the audience personally. Finally, with a slight roll of onyx eyes and a satisfied smirk from the drummer, Sasuke raised his mic again.

"So tonight we're going to celebrate this event with a brand new song. We hope you guys like it—and we dedicate it to everyone who's helped us get this far." Sasuke's eyes raked the crowd, settling first on Genma, Raidou, flitting over to the side to Kakashi who was waiting backstage for them, and then to Naruto who had now managed to edge his way to the side of the stage. The blond looked surprised when he locked gazes with Sasuke, but a moment of understanding passed between the two of them and Naruto nodded with a slight smile, ignoring the questioning look that Kiba gave him for the exchange.

The band gave each other a loaded look before taking their usual positions on stage, Sasuke centered at the middle as he slipped the mic into the stand.

The lights dimmed and the crowd calmed, and then the show was underway.

_How dare you say that my behavior's unacceptable?_

_So condescending unnecessarily critical_

_I have the tendency of getting very physical _

_So watch your step 'cause if I do you'll need a miracle_

_You drain me dry and make me wonder why I'm even here_

_The double vision I was seeing is finally clear_

_You want to stay but you know very well I want you gone_

_Not fit to fuckin' tread the ground that I am walkin on!_

Tonight's show held an energy that no previous show could even hold a torch to. The band played mercilessly and Sasuke held nothing back in his singing, pacing the stage and throwing his entire body into the music. Even Gaara, the most emotionless of the group, was savagely playing and moving with the music. Shikamaru's drums were on fire with the ferocity of his playing and Neji's hair was flailing around him as his entire body moved in time with his fingers flying across the strings of his guitar.

_When it gets cold outside and you've got nobody to love_

_You'll understand what I mean when I say there's no way we're gonna give up_

_Like a lady who cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams,_

_Is there anyone out there cuz it's getting harder and harder to breathe_

As he sang Sasuke kept finding his gaze flitting over to where Naruto was leaning against the stage and jumping with the rest of the crowd. He felt a fierce surge of pride as he saw how immersed the blond was in his music, and when Naruto looked up and found Sasuke staring at him as he sang, Sasuke didn't hesitate to reach out into the crowd as he had done so many times before, allowing the countless hands to grab and grope at his. However, this was the first time that he had done so with the intention of reaching out towards a specific individual, but Sasuke couldn't find it in him to care. He couldn't stop his grin when Naruto reached out and grabbed his hand, nearly causing him to topple off the edge of the stage with the sudden tightness of his grip.

The raven was shocked to find just how warm and familiar that simple touch felt, and he found that he felt more than a little reluctance to pull his hand away from Naruto's grasp. . The hand that held the mic trembled slightly as Sasuke began to pace around the stage, pretending to be completely unaffected by the simple touch that he had just shared with the blond man.

He refused to give too much thought to the fact that after one mere act of kindness Sasuke was already beginning to allow this mysterious man to get under his skin. With a defiant shake of his head, the raven threw himself into the music and didn't give the moment a second thought.

R-2-F

**Operation 06: Terminate**

Author's Note: Okay, so I basically fell off the face of the Earth for _months _on end. I know, and I'm so sorry! My life has been one big soap opera all year, but I've finally managed to straighten things out. I'd actually lost the urge to write for a while. Trust me, I've tried writing this chapter a million times but it never worked out. However, I love how it turned out. That's right, I'll say it—I like this chapter!! Well at least how it ended. 

And I'm sorry it took so long to put out.

HOPEFULLY I'LL DO BETTER NOW THAT MY WRITER'S BLOCK HAS BEEN PUMMELED! WE'LL SEE NEXT TIME, NE?


	8. Operation 08

**The Guardian **

**Operation 08: Initiate**

Following Fatal Mortality's performance the club was thrown into utter chaos. The band had yet to resurface and the bar was now lined with customers vying to get Genma's attention so that they might be the first to buy the band a round of congratulatory drinks. The rest of the patrons were crowded around the dance floor in a mass of bumping and grinding bodies. The band's announcement seemed to have sent the club into an excited uproar, and now Lithium was even crazier than ever before.

Finally, the band members appeared at the back of the club and were immediately assailed by well wishers and congratulators. Sasuke and the others allowed their grins to be seen as they were patted on the back by their fans, and even Gaara was smiling- though it appeared as more of a grimace to those who actually managed to catch a glimpse of it. The four men gently pushed their way through the mob, but they were making little progress.

The moment they freed themselves from one group of fans they were immediately met with another.

Kakashi suddenly appeared at their side and smiled kindly, setting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he placed himself between the crowd and his adoptive son. He began to politely, though firmly, usher the crowd back away from the boys. However, even with his added help the crowd continued to press in on the band and their manager.

Naruto and Kiba appeared next, flanking the sides of the band and grinning wolfishly. Naruto chanced a glance at Sasuke and winked before he joined Kakashi in ushering the crowd back. On the other side of the band Kiba was mirroring the blonde's actions, and the two's efforts surprisingly enough managed to gain them a bit of lee way. They both held an authoritive air that was startling to behold, and it appeared to be enough to cause the crowd to step back and allow the band some room.

Kiba stood with his shoulder against Shikamaru's and flashed the taller raven a grin as Shikamaru allowed shock to flicker across his face that the two men had managed to make a difference. "Don't look so surprised, Nara. We're occasionally good for something." The brunette teased as he bumped his shoulder against the drummer's, causing Shikamaru to bump into Gaara. The redhead glared at both of them for their efforts and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He'd grown immune to Gaara's moodiness long ago.

Naruto walked at Sasuke's side, looking for the world like he belonged there. He chanced another glance at the raven and was startled when he met the gaze of inquiring onyx. Blue eyes widened slightly, but he did nothing to break the connection. "Is something wrong, teme?" Naruto joked, if only to distract himself from the uncomfortable churning of his gut as Sasuke's eyes continued to gaze into his own.

Sasuke shook his head, reluctantly breaking the connection. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, dobe?" The raven's tone was dry, though there was a hint of admiration in the velvet of his voice.

Neither noticed that behind them, a single gray eye was sparkling mischievously as Kakashi unabashedly listened in on their exchange.

Naruto grinned cheekily at the singer's words and impulsively threw an arm around Sasuke's smaller shoulders, earning himself a startled glare from the raven that the undercover agent pretended not to notice. "You have no idea, Sasuke-teme. No idea at all."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

There was a hint of curiosity in Sasuke's voice that did not go unnoticed by Naruto, but the blond felt it best not to answer the other's question. Instead, he offered his own congratulations for the band's success and offered to buy the group a round of drinks. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when the quartet all readily accepted, and soon they were all headed for one of the private rooms that Genma had reserved for them.

The bartender had anticipated a wild reaction from his patrons after the band's announcement and had dutifully made arrangements for the men to have a private room so that they weren't constantly pestered by well wishers and devout fans. Thankful for Genma's foresight, the group quickly made their way inside

Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kiba all fell into one side of the exceedingly large, round booth that took up one corner of the room while Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto took seats at the other side. Kakashi retreated to a smaller table on the other side of the room where he immediately pulled out his cell phone and began to make a series of phone calls, allowing the younger men some time to themselves.

Genma entered the room followed closely by Raidou, both of which were carrying trays laden with drinks. The two wore identical grins as they approached the booth and began to distribute the beverages with practiced ease, Raidou merely standing and holding the extra tray while Genma swept the drinks onto the table. Once done, Genma stood there with a hand on his hip and grinned at the six of them.

"Brilliant show, boys." Raidou beamed, reaching across Naruto to ruffle Sasuke's hair. He ignored the scowl the raven sent him, but laughed along with the others as Sasuke struggled indignantly to straighten his mussed locks. "And, though I'm sure you're probably sick of hearing this, congratulations on getting a record deal!"

Genma grinned and slid his arm around Raidou's waist. "Tonight order whatever you'd like- it's on the house. I guess you brats have earned that much." The brunette's grin widened as he moved a stick of pocky from one side of his mouth to the other with a flick of his tongue. The bartender looked a bit like a proud parent as he took in the band members each in turn. "But I fully expect a signed copy of your CD when you get around to releasing it, capieshe?"

"Of course," Neji replied smoothly, a smile lighting his features. "That's the least we owe you."

Gaara cleared his throat suddenly, causing all eyes to turn to the bass player. They followed his gaze to find Gaara's eyes were fixed determinedly on Genma, though they darted to Raidou as well. The redhead did not speak for several moments, and when he finally did his voice was quiet but his eyes were fierce.

"Thank you both for your help. Without it, we would never have come this far."

It was a collective effort not to gape at the redhead as this was the most he had spoken to the two owners in their entire time having known each other, but somehow the group managed. Raidou and Genma, though looking thoroughly disarmed by the guitarist's words, both smiled warmly at Gaara.

"It was our pleasure, Gaara." Raidou replied diplomatically, his smile reaching through to his voice. "We like to think as you boys as the little brothers we never had, so we're glad we could help out in some way."

"Our annoying, needy, pain in the ass little brothers." Genma agreed with a cheeky grin, earning himself a playful punch from Shikamaru who happened to be sitting the closest to the older pair.

"Stop being troublesome and get to work, you lazy prick."

"I don't need to hear that from you." Genma deadpanned his eyes mischievous. This time he had the foresight to move out of the raven's reach before Shikamaru could attack once more.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be? Like, oh I don't know, your bar?" Kiba muttered sourly as he eyed his drink. He wasn't sure if he could trust anything that Genma gave him due to their time spent as roommates, so he had yet to take a drink of the whiskey that had been sat before him.

Genma grinned once again. "I wouldn't want you to be bored, dear Kiba. Your life must have been most boring these past years without me."

"More like most peaceful, but it looks like that life's shot to hell again."

The group laughed at the newcomer's muttered response, and Kiba used the distraction to switch his drink with Gaara's while the redhead was busy eyeing Genma in confusion. When Gaara looked down at his drink next, his brows lowered into a frown. He shot Kiba a dark glare that had the brunette switching their glasses sheepishly.

"Man, how did you notice?"

"That," Gaara intoned seriously, "will remain a mystery."

At Kiba's look of utter confusionA the group once again was sent into a fit of laughter and surprisingly enough it was Sasuke who spoke up next.

"Gaara is very particular about his liquor." The raven took a swig from his own glass and leaned back against the cushion of his seat. "He only drinks Genma's special blend and he can recognize it at a glance."

Genma poked his chest proudly. "The boy knows the best when he sees it."

Raidou rolled his eyes and shrugged out of Genma's hold, instead grabbing the bartender's elbow and beginning to gently guide him towards the door. "As much as we'd like to spend the night chatting with you boys, Genma and I have other patrons to attend to." The scarred man gave his lover a pointed glare as they exited the room. The door shut behind them a moment later, but not before the band and company overheard the beginning of the ensuing argument between the couple as Genma begged Raidou to have a quickie in the nearby broom closet.

"Poor Raidou; I pity him having to handle Genma on a daily basis like that." Naruto smirked into his drink. "It must be exhausting."

"In more ways than one." Sasuke agreed dryly, his cheeks already tinged pink with the effects of the whiskey. A glance at his glass would show that it was already more than half empty, and the other band members knew he had drank a bit before hitting the stage. The raven snickered drunkenly. "Lucky bastard."

Naruto tried valiantly to keep the shock from his face and to hide the sudden surge of happiness he felt at the singer's slip, but he knew Kiba had at least caught his sudden grin. The blond agent quickly managed to school his features and pretended not to have heard the last bit of Sasuke's retort.

Naruto raised his eyes only to find Neji eyeing him curiously, and the blond fought to keep his expression innocent. He met those eerily pale blue eyes unflinchingly and was quite satisfied when Neji was the first to look away. Naruto turned his attention to the drink before him but pushed it away after a moment's thought. He had to drive home, after all.

The next couple of hours were filled with friendly conversation and gossip from school, and before long the group of men found the time was well after one in the morning. Most of the group remained sober or only slightly buzzed, however Kiba and Sasuke were both utterly trashed. Kiba, for his part, was raving wildly and telling the others stories of "great adventures" that he had been on, though he kept complaining of a sore leg from time to time (as Naruto would kick the brunette's shin forcefully anytime that Kiba came too close to revealing something that might clue the others in on the pair's true occupation).

Sasuke, on the other hand, was leaning heavily against Naruto's side and was now nursing his fifth glass of whiskey. Naruto found the other's weight strangely comfortable against him, and now had an arm stretched across the back of the seat and partially draped across Sasuke's shoulders in order to "help keep him upright". At least, that was how Naruto hoped it appeared to the others. The blond was enjoying the contact more than he thought was probable, or more or less reasonable, and he was doing his best not to dwell on that fact.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Shino's a cool guy and all, but he's _so _not my type."

Kiba gaped at the raven. "Are you serious? Am I the only straight man at this table?"

The other five all looked at each other and laughed, even Gaara. Neji raised his hand, looking a bit like his equilibrium was off balance but appearing overall sober. "Though I'm pretty much the odd man out here, I do _not _hit for the home team." The raven appeared smug for a moment. "I like my women too much."

This brought a laugh from all the others once again and Kiba slung an arm around Neiji's shoulders in newfound camaraderie. "Thank god 'm not the only normal one."

Naruto snorted. "You? Normal? Ha!"

Sasuke giggled against Naruto's side and made to reach for Naruto's still full glass of whiskey, but the blond realized his intent and grabbed the glass before the other could touch it. "I think you've had more than enough, teme." He laughed, holding the glass out of Sasuke's reach.

The raven reached drunkenly across Naruto, pressing close against his side and nearly climbing in the blond's lap in an effort to reach the drink. "Give it!" He whined, scowling when Naruto only handed the drink to Neji who placed it on the other side of the table and further out of Sasuke's reach. The singer turned his head to glare at Naruto, their faces only inches away.

"Ass."

"Drunken bastard."

Sasuke seemed to decide that arguing took far too much effort and merely slumped against Naruto's chest, laying his cheek against one strong shoulder and appearing oblivious to the fact that he was half sprawled across the blond. The singer grumbled something incoherently that was probably meant to be his retort, but it was lost in the folds of Naruto's t-shirt.

Neji, Gaara, and Shikamaru all looked at each other with raised eyebrows upon witnessing their lead singer's drunken flirting, each completely taken aback by Sasuke's behavior. Of course seeing Sasuke drunk wasn't anything new to them, but Sasuke generally was a standoffish drunk that only messed around with anyone who made the effort to come to him. As far as the other band members knew, Sasuke didn't even know _how _to flirt.

Naruto rolled his eyes dramatically as the raven began to snore softly against him. "Well, it looks like the bastard finally drank himself under the table." He joked, his voice teasing. When Sasuke didn't stir to form a retort it was obvious he actually had passed out. This earned a laugh from everyone at the table, and even a soft chuckle for Kakashi who was only keeping half an eye on the men from the other side of the private room.

"I guess it's time to call it a night, then." Neji declared as he rose to his feet, unwittingly resembling a cat as he stretched his arms above his head to ease the kinks from his back that were the result of sitting in the booth for so long.

The others stood as well without further prompting, all ready to return to their respective dorms and crash. They were only too aware of the fact that they had class again the next morning and it was already well past four in the morning.

Shikamaru yawned and pulled out his cell phone as he stood, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he read a text message he had apparently just now noticed. "Hmm…troublesome. " He quickly typed a reply and slid his phone shut again and his gaze fixed on Naruto. "Do you mind having Sasuke ride with you back to your dorm? Chouji ran out of potato chips and is about to have a midlife crisis."

The drummer rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Naruto laughed, standing as well and pulling Sasuke up with him with a supporting arm around the raven's waist. "Sure thing, Shikamaru. We're going to the same place anyways." Naruto pulled one of Sasuke's limp arms around his own neck, attempting to keep the singer upright.

Gaara came to stand in front of the blond, glaring at him levelly. "Don't try anything."

Naruto actually let out a bark of shocked laughter. Even though he continued to blink in shock at the redhead, he somehow managed to form a reply. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, man. I just want to get home and get some sleep."

Gaara eyed him a moment longer before nodding to himself, seeming to find whatever answer he was searching for. He calmly exited the room without so much as glancing at the others.

The other men all shook their heads in various degrees of amusement. Neiji and Shikamaru seemed the least phased by their bandmate's behavior. Naruto and Kiba, however, were both caught between amusement and bafflement. They said nothing, just blinking at the door that Gaara had exited in bewilderment.

"Is he always like that?" Kiba ventured to ask.

"Always," Kakashi quipped as he too rose to his feet, coming to stand with the younger men and smiling cheekily. "Though you do eventually get used to it, I assure you."

"I doubt that." Kiba and Naruto replied simultaneously.

The manager laughed, placing a hand on Shikamaru and Neiji's back. "We'd better head out, boys. It's already well past your bedtime." Kakashi happily ignored the glares that were shot his way from the two band members and ushered them out the door.

With a shake of their heads, Kiba and Naruto followed them out, Sasuke in tow.

R-2-F

**Operation 08: Terminate**

Author's Note: Well, there's chapter number two in as many weeks! Oh yeah! I'm on a roll, I tell you. I've got a notebook full of ideas for this story. This chapter actually has been written for several days, but I kept forgetting to give it to my beta and now she's procrastinating… haha, well, long story short I'm publishing this unedited at the moment. It should be up and fixed by tomorrow! Well, I'm off to try and work on an update for my FMA story. Please leave me feedback and let me know how I'm doing!

Until next time,

R2F


	9. Operation 09

**The Guardian**

_What's Happened So Far_: After an innocent encounter at club Lithium, Special Agent Uzumaki Naruto and partner Inuzuka Kiba are assigned to protect Uchiha Sasuke, the soul survivor of the powerful business magnate the Uchiha's-- who has a warrant for murder out on his head by none other than his very own brother. Who just happens to be Uchiha Itachi, the man who is responsible for the demise of the Uchiha family and who is allegedly the leader of the terrorist group known as the Akatsuki. The two agents go undercover and work to squeeze their way into the young heir's life in order to protect him from the danger of Akastuki, and hopefully to catch Uchiha Itachi and bring the terrorist group to their knees. A secret meeting with Mist, a drug trafficking group that is closely ensnared in Akatsuki's web may prove to be the FBI's break and their lead directly to Itachi. However, budding feelings between agent Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha may cause complications that no one could have predicted.

**Operation 09: Initiate**

"You'd better get up, dumbass. You're going to be late again."

Naruto frowned, blinking his eyes open as he struggled to process what the other was saying through the confusion he always felt when he woke up. The blond groaned and rolled onto his side so that the sun was no longer shining directly in his eyes. What the hell? He distinctly remembered shutting those curtains last night for this exact reason!

There was _nothing _worse than waking up with the sun in your eyes.

"Naruto, get up!" The voice growled, this time sounding truly agitated.

Naruto blinked at the use of his given name and forced his eyes open. He rolled over and shielded his eyes from the blinding sun with a raised arm and squinted up at his personal alarm clock. Sure enough, it was Sasuke who was standing next to his bed and looking sinfully good in a pair of plain jeans and a black tank.

"What do you want, teme?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and glared down at Naruto. "I want you to get up, stupid," He drawled, glancing at the clock mounted on Naruto's wall. "We're going to be late if you don't get a move on."

It took an enormous amount of effort for Naruto to get past the "I want you…" part of that sentence, but when he finally managed to register what had actually been said, he surged upright and began looking around desperately for clothes.

"Shit, school!" He swore as he struggled to disentangle himself from his bedding, though his urgency was only making him ensnare himself in the covers even further. "Gonna be late, gonna be late!"

"Chill out, dobe." Sasuke commanded emotionlessly. He didn't bother to look at Naruto as he tossed a handful of clothes at him and turned to leave the room. "You're covered."

Naruto gaped at the raven's retreating back, frozen in shock just as he had finally managed to disentangle one leg from the twisted covers. His body slowly began to tilt to one side as his weight overbalanced him, and rolled him unceremoniously off the bed to the floor, still entangled in his stubborn sheets. He looked up at the clothes that had been thrown on his disheveled comforter warily, as if unable to believe that the raven had actually done something to help him.

Well, it _was _an unlikely event.

Apparently, the unlikely was happening today.

The blonde agent hurriedly readied himself after thoroughly inspecting his clothes, brushing his teeth and half heartedly attempting to straighten out his hair before he ran to the living room. There he found Sasuke already waiting none-too-patiently with Naruto's book bag in one hand. Again, Naruto fought back any thoughts of disbelief and simply took the book bag from the raven, grabbing a pale wrist in one of his hands and proceeding to drag Sasuke from the apartment, pausing only to properly lock the door behind them.

Sasuke once again surprised the blonde by allowing himself to be drug across campus and into the Holt building, where their English class awaited them. They arrived with minutes to spare yet still managed to draw the eyes of everyone gathered in the room as they entered the classroom, Naruto still tugging Sasuke along behind him with a light grip on the raven's wrist. The two fell into their seats as one and worked to catch their breaths. They _had _just sprinted across the entire campus in the space of five minutes.

That would wear out anyone.

Trained FBI agents included.

Shikamaru slid his gaze over to Sasuke as casually as possible, yet couldn't hide his blink of shock when he found the raven leaning up in his seat with his arms braced on his desk, smirking slightly at something the blonde in front of him was saying as Naruto leaned his head back a bit so the two could easily converse. The raven haired drummer looked at Neji, his eyes now comically wide with confusion. He simply mouthed "what the hell?" to his long haired friend.

Neji shook his head slightly in return, shrugging. He couldn't explain Sasuke's behavior either.

Not that anyone was complaining about it. In fact, the three members of the band spent the next minute or so watching their friend banter with the blonde haired man sitting in front of him, all wearing various degrees of half-smiles at the sight. It was the first time in more years than any of them cared to count that they had seen Sasuke let his guard down around someone that wasn't the three of them or his guardian. In fact, it was all that the band could do not to stare at the two men.

Just then, Iruka decided to arrive to class at the precise time that Kiba ran inside. The professor just barely managed to dodge the overeager brunette and escape being knocked to the ground by the oblivious student, who simply ran straight to the empty desk in front of Naruto and fell into his chair, panting loudly and dropping his book bag on the floor. Kiba's stuff promptly spilled from his bag, earning a loud cry of "fuck!" from the brunette as he scrambled to chase down his pens that were now rolling away from his desk.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a bemused look as Kiba hit the floor in pursuit of his pens. Then the pair promptly burst out into laughter.

Neji and Shikamaru both blinked at the sound, though they soon joined their friends and the rest of the class in laughing at Kiba's mishap as the brunette somehow managed to get himself stuck under a desk while he was attempting to retrieve a pen. What was funnier than Kiba getting stuck beneath a desk with his butt in the air, one hand outstretched towards the ever elusive pen? The fact that there was someone sitting in the aforementioned desk. And that this someone was Hinata.

And Hinata had absolutely no idea what to do at her predicament.

Naruto dropped his head back onto Sasuke's desk now, a hand covering his eyes as he howled with laughter at the sight his partner was making. He was glad for once that they were undercover on this mission. No one would have believed him if he'd told them that the man who was now attempting to squirm out from under the desk was actually a highly trained, highly dangerous FBI agent. Hell, it was moments like this that even Naruto found such a fact hard to believe.

Kiba certainly wasn't helping himself with the unmanly squawks that he was making now as he struggled to un-stick himself from beneath the desk. His face was burning bright red and he was stammering out apologies to Hinata, who was also trapped in the desk as she couldn't free her legs enough for her to be able to stand because they were also stuck under the desk with Kiba. The poor girl was as red as Kiba, though she was also giggling uncontrollably as she watched hew new pseudo-boyfriend struggle uselessly to free himself.

With a long suffering sigh that Iruka hoped hid the fact that he too had been doubled over with laughter just seconds ago, the teacher made his way over to Kiba. "Akamaru-san, calm down. You're just going to get yourself even more stuck if you keep squirming." He said in what he hoped was a calming voice, though he couldn't help that his voice shook ever so slightly with laughter. " Stay still and I can get you out!"

Kiba grudgingly stayed still, his hand now cradling his cheek as if the situation was simply boring and his expression sulking. However, the brunette's bright red face gave away his embarrassment the situation he was currently-- literally-- stuck in.

Naruto continued to cackle as Iruka proceeded to maneuver Kiba out from beneath the desk--slowly and awkwardly, but surely. He dropped his hands from his eyes finally to find that Sasuke was also bent over laughing, and if the sound of the raven's laughter alone wasn't enough to cause Naruto's stomach to flutter, the fact that the raven had unwittingly bent so his face was directly over Naruto's certainly did the trick.

Naruto's laughter cut off abruptly and he simply stared at Sasuke's face, suddenly so close to his own.

Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes opened slowly, still wrinkled slightly in the corners with mirth. He watched as the expression slowly relaxed into a look of surprise, which then slowly melted into one of uncertainty. Naruto's breath caught in his throat at the sudden flash of vulnerability he found in those onyx eyes.

Before he could pause to think about it, Naruto was reaching up and putting a hand behind Sasuke's head and lowering Sasuke's face to his. His eyes were locked on onyx as he did so, carefully gauging the singer's reaction as he easily closed the distance between their faces. He found something in Sasuke's expression that made his blood heat in his veins with anticipation, yet seconds before their lips could brush a hand on Naruto's shirt jerked him upright, and at the exact same time Sasuke suddenly disappeared from Naruto's line of sight.

Naruto blinked as he was forced to sit up and meet his partner's surprisingly dark expression. His eyes fell to Kiba's hand which was clenched tightly in his shirt and still had yet to let go. He brought his gaze back to Kiba, still blinking through the confusion caused by his Sasuke-induced haze.

Behind him, three men were all surrounding Sasuke's desk and exchanging hushed words. Gaara's hand was in the back of Sasuke's shirt, clenched much like Kiba's was on Naruto's, and Shikamaru and Neji were pressing in on either side of the raven's desk. In the middle of the commotion sat Sasuke, who was looking as dazed as Naruto felt. When Naruto turned slightly to gain a glimpse of the raven, it was to meet eyes that were equally wide in shock as his own.

R-2-F

Band practice that night was… _tense_… to say the least.

Initially the band had smothered Sasuke with their worry over what had nearly happened with Naruto back in the classroom, but now it was almost as if the other three were giving their lead singer the cold shoulder. Sasuke frowned from his place on a stool that had been placed center stage. They were currently taking a break from warming up so that Sasuke didn't strain his voice too much before the show, and so Gaara could replace a few strings on his guitar that were wearing too thin for his taste.

The line outside was already beginning to form. A glance at the clock proved that Lithium opened in forty-five minutes, so Sasuke was sure to catch Neji's eye and then glance at the clock. The longer haired raven simply nodded in understanding and relayed the message to the other two. Shikamaru stood and headed backstage while Gaara took a few more minutes to finish tuning his guitar. Neji and Sasuke followed Shikamaru into the back to go through wardrobe change and take a short break before the show.

Still, Sasuke was more than vaguely annoyed to note that his bandmates seemed to continue to avoid meeting his eye.

R-2-F

Shikamaru glanced up when he heard footsteps behind him and found Neji and Gaara coming to stand behind him. A simple glimpse over the backstage area would prove that Sasuke was busy changing and was currently engaged in an argument with Kakashi over how much skin was "proper" to show while on stage. Shikamaru allowed his face to slip into a scowl once he was sure that the lead singer was otherwise occupied.

"I don't like him." Gaara stated simply, his voice flat and eyes narrowed.

Neji nodded his head in agreement. "I have nothing personal against Ashiya, don't get me wrong. There's just something off about him and Akamaru." He fixed Shikmaru with a loaded look. "And I'm not too fond of the way Ashiya keeps ogling Sasuke."

Gaara nodded once in agreement, brow furrowing further.

Shikamaru sighed, leaning against the table that was now to his back. "It's not our business who wants to "ogle" Uchiha." His voice was just as bored as ever. "Aside from that, though. There _is _something off about those two."

"And Sasuke is beginning to become attached." Gaara once again intoned.

Neji blinked at his friend, though whether it was from the surprise that came with acknowledging the truth in Gaara's statement, or from the fact that Gaara was contributing so much to the conversation, even Neji wasn't sure. "Gaara's right." He shook his head and looked at Shikamaru again. "This can only end badly."

"If it ends badly things will get troublesome again." Shikamaru's scowl turned dark. "I'm not fond on the idea of trying to piece Uchiha back together if something goes wrong."

Neji's eyes narrowed at that and he hit the drummer none to lightly across his chest. "No one's asking you to." He challenged, his gaze icy.

Shikamaru rubbed at his chest sourly. "No one has to." His tone was just as challenging.

Gaara stepped smoothly between the two before the bickering could escalate. "We all know the lengths we will go through to protect Sasuke." He gave them both a level look. "Or so I'd hope."

Shikamaru and Neji both fell back a step, expressions equally chagrined.

Gaara seemed appeased at this and lowered his hands from either of their chests.

Sasuke chose that moment to return to the group, his expression so sour that it brought three identical smirks of bemusement to the other's faces. The raven stopped between Gaara and Shikamaru with his hands on his bared hips. "Do I look slutty to you?" He demanded, tone just as aggravated as his expression.

Sasuke's only answer was a chorus of snickers from his friends, which only served to pique his irritation. The raven haired singer threw his hands in the air and turned, storming back to the changing room and tugging on a simple black muscle shirt in exchange for the mesh shirt he'd been so set on wearing.

R-2-F

Naruto and Kiba had cheered loudly as Fatal Mortality finished playing later that night, both men equally drunk off of the heady mixture of alcohol and adrenaline from tonight's show. The two were currently leaning against the stage, waiting for the band to finish breaking down their set and come join them for a drink. Naruto was obviously eager for Sasuke to finish up, a fact that did not go unnoticed by anyone, except for possibly the raven in question and Naruto himself.

Kiba was being sure to keep a wary eye on Naruto tonight for fear of the blond agent doing something to completely jeopardize the mission. However, the brunette soon realized that he needn't worry about doing too much-- it seemed that Neji, Shikamaru, and Gaara had all had the same idea as Kiba. The three men had spent the majority of the show eyeing the blond distrustfully. Kiba just hoped that no one else in the audience had noticed how the entire band's attention had been focused on Naruto tonight during the show. It was already becoming an increasingly common occurrence for Sasuke to have eyes only for the blond while he sang.

Kiba was not looking forward to having to report this new development to Tsunade at their next meeting. Even now he was warring with himself over the ethics of telling his superior about the hopefully "innocent" attraction between his partner and their target. Kiba knew that his duty called for him to let the Director know of any potential complications that might surface that concerned the assignment. However, as Naruto's best friend…was his first duty to let Tsunade know about this budding infatuation between Uchiha and Naruto, or was it to trust Naruto to make the smart choice? And to more importantly give him the chance to make said choice before turning him over to the dogs?

Even now, Kiba still didn't have that answer.

Yet, when the realization struck him that just by watching Naruto's face he could tell without a doubt the second that the Uchiha had left the stage simply by the look of utter joy that spread unwarranted across his partner's face, Kiba felt that he had his answer.

"Teme!" Naruto called in order to attract Sasuke's searching gaze. The smile that split the blonde's face when the singer spotted him could have lit the entire club had he tried. Naruto moved in perfect sync with the singer as they worked to close the distance between them, the blonde grinning idiotically and Sasuke just allowing the slightest of smirks. It was all Kiba could do to keep up with his partner in the crowd.

That is, until they found their way blocked by a petite raven haired man that was most certainly _not _Uchiha Sasuke.

Rather, it was Momoichi Zabuza's right hand man, Haku.

And he appeared to be at Lithium on business.

**Operation 09: Terminate**

Author's Note: So.. Yeah. No excuses this time. This chapter may have been a bit rough, I hope not, but it _has _been nearly a year since I updated. Pathetic? Oh yeah. The reason I'm back here at all is because of you-- the reader's-- awesome feedback on this fic. To this day I keep getting new reviews or author adds or favorite story alerts, even after all this time! You guys seriously blow my mind. If it wasn't for you I will bluntly say that I had every intention of abandoning this fic. However, because of your feedback and dedication I got the kick in the rear I needed to pick up a pen (well, figuratively) and get back to work. Thank you _so _much, I'd forgotten how much I loved this story and, more importantly, why I'm a writing major in college in the first place.

Until next time-- and feedback will ensure that there _will _be a next time ;),

R2F

(God I missed writing that!)


	10. Operation 10

**The Guardian**

**Operation 10: Initiate**

"Marcus." Haku greeted Naruto warmly, though there was a definite chill to his tone. "I'm so glad I ran into you."

Naruto and Kiba exchanged carefully level looks, though there was nothing calm about how they felt in that moment. Their hearts surged as one to their respective throats and both agents felt as if they were about to choke on them. Before them stood the man who could single handedly get them the vital link they needed with Mist which would lead them directly to the hopefully unsuspecting Akatuski.

And right behind him was the man who was the bait they would need to lure Uchiha Itachi into the open and make the entire plan work.

"Haku!" Kiba managed, glancing once at Naruto and forcing what he hoped was a smile of welcoming surprise onto his face. Naruto easily interpreted the silent glance and nodded in what would seem like a greeting to Haku, yet was truly a nod of consent to Kiba's silent command. _I'll take care of Haku. You get to Sasuke. _

Naruto continued to walk, clapping Haku lightly on the shoulder. "Give me just a second, my friend. I see someone I must speak with and I'm afraid it's urgent." Naruto accompanied his silky words with a smooth smile. He was sure to speak with an accent once again, but he managed to speak low enough that his false accent wouldn't be heard by the ever-nearing Uchiha.

Haku smiled easily and stepped aside so Naruto could pass him easier. "Of course, Marcus. Take your time." He intoned, voice practically dripping with honey. "Roarke and I will occupy ourselves."

Kiba nodded, smiling in what seemed to be an easy manner. "That we shall. Care for a drink, Haku?" He had also slipped into his alias and spoke with a thick Irish lilt.

At Haku's nod of approval Kiba lead him towards the bar, slipping Haku the money for their drinks and excusing himself for a moment. He took the opportunity to slip off to the bathroom while the drug lord was occupied with ordering their drinks from Genma. Kiba knew better than to think that being in the same vicinity as Genma would do anything other than blow his cover clear out of the water.

And he had to inform HQ about this surprise visit.

Meanwhile, Naruto quickly closed the remaining distance between himself and Sasuke and tried to force his expression to reflect his previous enthusiasm from the show and not the nagging worry that he felt now that Haku had shown himself at Lithium. After all, there was no good scenario that the blonde agent could think up for Haku's surprise appearance. Chances were he and Kiba were being followed.

_Dammit_, Naruto mentally cursed, _this was a rookie mistake. _It was only logical that a drug lord with as much power as Zabuza would have them tailed. If there was one thing that Mist was it was cautious. It was thanks to their cautious nature that they had managed to stay under the FBI's radar for so long in the first place. To not factor Mist's instinctive distrust of outsiders into Naruto and Kiba's duty to protect Sasuke was a blindingly stupid move.

Naruto just hoped that they could somehow managed to roll with this new development and that everything wasn't about to tumble out of control.

"Dobe." Sasuke said by way of greeting, though his tone held little of the ice that he had originally used when addressing Naruto. The raven shone in a light sheen of sweat from his antics onstage and when Naruto finally stopped in front of him it was all the blonde agent could do to remember the mission at all.

He recovered from his daze quickly enough. "You're going to have to learn basic manners, Uchiha." He replied dryly, though his tone was far from offended. Naruto had come to terms with the fact that "dobe" seemed to be Sasuke's appointed name for him. However, when he wasn't so busy worrying about a hovering henchmen of one of the most powerful drug syndicates in Chicago hovering behind him, Naruto was sure he would feel indignant over his pet name once more.

"Uchihas don't need manners." Sasuke responded flatly.

"Yeah, if you don't like someone you just kill them, right?" Naruto quipped before he could stop himself. Almost immediately his eyes widened to the size of saucers and he turned his head slowly back to face the Uchiha, his gaze having somehow wandered behind him to the bar during their banter. He mentally kicked himself for having said something so stupid. Naruto's head was so confused with his warring missions that he wasn't thinking straight.

The raven didn't look too pleased either. "Hn. Or we buy out their companies, sue their families, fire them, repossess their houses…" His eyes were narrowed dangerously now, betraying his casual tone. "You know, whatever cold blooded thing comes to mind. As a rule we try to keep murder within the family, though."

Naruto opened his mouth to try and stammer out an apology but found the raven was already turning around and disappearing into the crowd again. His mouth opened and closed like a floundering fish for a second before Naruto finally gathered the brains to go after the raven. "Sasuke," He groaned, drawing out the syllables of the smaller man's name in a whine. He felt a weird mixture of desperation and annoyance as he watched the increasingly familiar sight of Sasuke's retreating back as the singer simply continued to walk away from him.

He chose to attribute the desperation that was factored into that equation as a direct result of the fact that the FBI needed the young Uchiha to bring down the Akatsuki.

There were no personal emotions attached to the feeling at all.

_Right. _

Sasuke was heading towards the bar in search of his ever present bottle of booze by the time that Naruto caught up with him. "Sasuke, I'm sorry." He said bluntly, grabbing the raven's arm in a firm grip so that the singer couldn't pull away from him so easily again. "I wasn't thinking."

"Which would lead one to wonder what the hell you actually _are _thinking if that sort of shit just slips out on _accident_." Sasuke's tone was snidely mocking, his eyes deliberately scanning the bar in search of Genma or Raidou rather than looking at the blonde man attached to his arm.

"I--" Well_ shit_, Naruto had no idea how to counter that argument. He couldn't very well just tell Sasuke that he'd been thinking of Itachi's criminal record and that the comment had simply slipped out. _That _would lead to a whole new level of questions that Naruto wasn't willing to touch with a ten foot pole.

"Fuck off, A--"

"Adair!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto blinked as Haku appeared in front of them, the petite raven holding his and Kiba's beers in either hand. Clearly, he'd been in search of Kiba.

Naruto felt his stomach drop to somewhere around his feet.

"Roarke just went to the bathroom, but I'm beginning to fear he fell in." Haku explained with easy charm, his eyes shifting from Naruto as he finally noticed Sasuke. "Oh! My apologies, Marcus, this must be the man you were needing to speak with. My apologies!" Haku laughed graciously, shifting the mugs into one hand and offering his other to Sasuke. "I'm so sorry I interrupted. Allow me to introduce myself, my name's Haku."

Naruto forced himself to look at Sasuke from the corner of his eye. He felt his stomach tighten further at the way the raven's eyes steeled over for a single instant before Sasuke's face suddenly was overtaken by a dazzling smile that could have easily charmed the most venomous snake. The breath in Naruto's lungs refused to budge as Sasuke reached out and shook Haku's hand firmly.

"Uchiha Sasuke, it's a pleasure." Sasuke responded smoothly, his face a perfect mask of charm. "Please excuse my appearance, I'm a bit of a mess at the moment."

Haku shared in the raven's easy laugh, shaking the offered hand before shifting the beers in his hold back so that he held one in each hand. "Not at all! I managed to arrive just before your show ended. Spectacular, really."

Sasuke's answering smile froze the blood in Naruto's veins.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It's rare that people actually come out just to enjoy the show."

There was no missing the subtle jab at Naruto as Sasuke spoke, even if the singer didn't so much as spare Naruto a glance. Naruto fought back the urge to flinch at the words and did his best to read Sasuke from the corner of his eye without giving himself away. He was startled to find that the Uchiha that stood next to him now bared little resemblance to the one that Naruto had been arguing with only seconds before, despite the fact that it was obviously still Sasuke.

However, there was nothing _Sasuke _about the man beside Naruto anymore.

Naruto noted that there was a steel to the raven's eyes and a set to his jaw that made Sasuke suddenly seem much more formidable, intimidating even, as he and Haku continued to converse with false ease. The raven stood straighter and his shoulders were squared, making even his lithe body somehow appear larger. Sasuke now even used his height to his advantage, looking down his perfect nose at Haku as he spoke as if subtly reminding the smaller raven and everyone else in the room that Sasuke was an Uchiha and therefore was above all of them.

Naruto realized with a start that this was no longer the Sasuke he was coming to know. This was Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the Uchiha legacy and the man who single handedly controlled exactly one third of the nation's businesses.

And he was quite a site to behold.

"Marcus, you certainly run with a prestigious crowd." Haku observed with a small grin, taking a drink of his beer in a move that was anything but casual. Naruto could tell by the man's calculating gaze that Haku simply drank to hide his expression as he mulled over something in his head. "Is Uchiha aiding in your latest business venture's finances?"

Before Naruto could get a word in edgewise Sasuke was once again speaking up.

"Of course, that's what Uchihas are for, isn't it?" Sasuke laughed icily, waving one hand dismissively. "I was actually just about to write up the check."

Naruto whirled to look at Sasuke, eyes narrowed and jaw set. "That won't be nece--"

"Nonsense. Who do I make the check out to?" Sasuke had already reached into his back pocket and miraculously pulled out a checkbook and pen. "Marcus…?" The way the question was phrased it would sound innocent to Haku, however Naruto caught the silent stab.

"There won't be a check. We don't need your money." Naruto shifted his gaze, attempting to force the steel from his expression as he looked to Haku. "I assure you, Haku. Roarke and I are more than capable of providing our own funds for our arrangement."

"Of course." Haku placated gently, his voice somehow managing to be heard above the crowd without being raised in the slightest. "I was merely pondering aloud, excuse me."

"Well since I have the checkbook out in any case, here." Sasuke quickly scribbled an amount on the check and signed his signature, ripping out the fragile paper with a flourish and pressing it into Naruto's chest. "I think 30,000 should suffice."

Naruto's jaw set and he barely managed to force his fingers closed before the-- he glanced at the check, sure enough-- _blank _check had a chance to flutter to the ground of the club floor as Sasuke disappeared into the crowd.

"Your friend is quite a character." Haku remarked with a raised brow, clearly trying to understand the tension between the two men as Sasuke moved away from them.

Kiba chose that moment to reappear, glancing at Naruto fleetingly as he apologized for his delayed reappearance and explaining to Haku that the line to the bathroom had been utterly ridiculous. When he saw his partner's expression Kiba's shoulders tensed just slightly, but it was a subtle enough change that only someone as well tuned to the brunette's body language as Naruto would have noticed.

"Did I miss anything interesting?" Kiba asked with a grin. _Did something happen while I was gone? _

"Not at all, I was just about to suggest that we go somewhere a little quieter so I don't lose my voice yelling over the music." Naruto replied, gesturing to the private rooms and grinning at both Haku and Kiba. _We're so fucked._

R-2-F

"Something just happened."

"No shit, something just happened. What are you, Captain Fucking Obvious?"

"I'm going to kill you both."

The three men sighed in frustration, Neiji and Shikamaru shooting the redhead an annoyed glare at his threat. They were currently hiding out in one of the booths towards the back of the club and had been watching from afar as Sasuke and Naruto encountered the small man who was dressed far too nicely to just be wasting a night at Lithium. At least, if one could assume as much simply judging from the Armani suit the small raven wore. Not to mention the way that Akamaru and Ashiya had both scrambled the second that they ran into the man.

"Any idea who the midget is?"

"He's like an inch shorter than Gaara, Nej." Shikamaru observed dryly.

Gaara's eyes narrowed further. "I'm really going to kill you both."

The other two seem as unaffected by the redhead's threat the second time as they had the first. Neji was too busy eyeing the finely dressed raven to take heed, while Shikamaru was busy observing the way that Sasuke suddenly shifted into business mode after only a few words were spoken after he and the Armani man were introduced. Gaara watched Sasuke and the other two men intently, his eyes especially fixed on the oh-so-subtle twitch in Ashiya's cheek that could easily be attributed to nerves. But what did the blonde man have to be nervous for…?

Suddenly the three band members collectively rose to their feet, each looking as murderous as the other as they slammed their beers down angrily. They'd seen Sasuke reach for his back pocket, where he kept his checkbook, and now saw him scribbling down an amount on the paper emotionlessly. Before they could even begin to storm their way over to Naruto, Sasuke was heading directly towards them. They watched as the proud raven strode his way towards them with his chin raised, looking down his nose at everyone around him as he reached the table.

"Someone take me home." He commanded, his voice clipped as he claimed Gaara's beer.

"Troublesome ass." Shikamaru groused, though his voice lacked any venom as he deftly retrieved his keys from his pocket. He didn't even bother taking offense at the tone that Sasuke used to address them. None of them did. The three band members all knew that Sasuke was only keeping his business front firmly in place for his own sanity. So long as the raven acted as if he was nothing more than the Uchiha heir, nothing touched him.

However, they all also knew that the second he was alone that Sasuke was going to come apart at the seams for being used for money once more. It wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence when the entire world saw Sasuke as young, naïve, and rolling around in more money than any "brat" would know what to do with. That didn't mean that this "common" occurrence didn't send fire running through each of the band member's veins.

"You two take Sasuke home. I'm going to stay for another drink." Gaara intoned flatly, sinking back into his seat and folding his arms. His posture was rigid and even Sasuke knew not to pick a fight with the redhead when he held himself that way. It would be a losing battle.

"Alright." Neji responded in stride, already moving with Shikamaru and Sasuke towards the back exit of the club since it was the nearest. "Stay out of trouble." He added as an after thought, sparing Gaara a pointed look.

Gaara allowed a rare but dangerous smirk, claiming Neji's abandoned beer and silently toasting his friends' retreating backs.

Neji and Shikamaru shared a look behind Sasuke's back, each wearing identical feral smirks as they left Gaara behind to "finish his drink".

R-2-F

It felt like hours before Naruto managed to slide away from Haku's side long enough to glance at his phone. Once out on the dance floor he managed to conceal himself well enough to attempt to call Sasuke without the worry of Haku "stumbling" across him as he tried to speak with the raven.

As was expected, Sasuke's phone went directly to voicemail. Naruto read the forwarded call for the silent _fuck you_ that it was and sighed heavily, pocketing his phone and dropping his head back with a groan. He was ignorant to the swaying bodies around him due to his misery at the night's turn of events. What was worse than Haku's impromptu appearance at the club, was that any progress he had made with Sasuke had been destroyed in a matter of seconds. Worse still, all Haku had spoken of since the Uchiha's disappearance had been Sasuke. Not only was the obsessive drug dealer grating on Naruto's nerves, his interest in Uchiha was pissing Naruto off by no small amount.

Suddenly, Naruto felt someone grab his shoulder and whirl him around. The blonde agent barely had time to be surprised before he felt a firm fist connect with his nose. Naruto stumbled back in surprise, his hands not going to his nose but falling to his sides and curling defensively instead so that he was ready to block a follow-up attack. Through the bright spots dancing before Naruto's vision he saw Gaara standing before him, looking coolly furious.

_Oh. Shit. _

Despite Naruto's defensive stance he still wasn't able to move quickly enough to block the next punch that the redhead aimed at him, this one catching his left temple and making the agent's vision black out for several seconds. Naruto managed to keep his footing and shook his head to clear his vision, knocking Gaara's next attack askew with his forearm. "What the hell, Gaara?" He managed to exclaim, stumbling back another step.

Shit that guy was stronger than he looked.

Teal eyes narrowed further in anger as Gaara took a step towards him. "You used him." He said simply, his voice so low in fury that Naruto had to strain to hear it. Their fight was already gathering a crowd. This was the _last _thing that Naruto needed.

"I don't know what you're--" Naruto never had a chance to finish his sentence because Gaara seemed pretty intent on knocking his teeth in. This time Naruto retaliated before he could stop himself, dropping to the ground and bracing himself on his hands before sweeping his leg out in a smooth motion that knocked Gaara's feet from underneath him and sent the redhead to the ground as well.

Gaara was not one to be outdone and sprung into a crouch and literally tackled Naruto to the ground, his fists flying unrepentantly. The redhead's anger was frightening and he wasn't giving Naruto a chance to defend himself or even to get in a punch of his own. Not that Naruto could actually fight Gaara to the best of his abilities-- it would give away his cover. However, he'd really like the chance to _try. _

Just as suddenly as the fight began it was over. Naruto suddenly felt the furious redhead being pulled away from him and looked up to see Raidou holding Gaara from behind, his arms hooked beneath Gaara's arms so that the younger man couldn't break the hold.

Naruto sat upright slowly, rubbing at the back of his head gingerly as he felt his entire face throbbing from the thrashing that he had just been handed out. He cracked open his eyes again and saw Genma standing between him and Gaara, a bottle of Jack in hand.

"What the hell is going on here?" Genma demanded, his gaze going between Naruto and Gaara sharply.

Naruto could swear that Gaara's gaze had turned into pure ice as he looked up at the smaller man, still in a daze that a man who was so much smaller than Naruto could actually pack such a punch. "Th-that son of a bitch just attacked me!" Naruto finally stammered indignantly, pointing accusingly at Gaara.

Genma and Raidou both looked at Gaara, their gaze holding something that Naruto couldn't quite discern.

"Gaara." Raidou prodded harshly, tightening his hold on the smaller man's shoulders in a way that Naruto was sure threatened to dislocate Gaara's shoulders if Raidou didn't lessen his hold soon. Still, there was something off about the owner's voice as he addressed the redhead.

"He was after Uchiha's money." Gaara intoned at last, voice utterly devoid of emotion and just as softly spoken as before.

"What? That's bullshit!" Naruto screeched, scrambling to his feet indignantly.

Naruto barely had time to register that Genma was walking towards him before the bartender drew back his arm and shattered the bottle of Jack Daniel's over Naruto's head, rendering the blonde unconscious.

R-2-F

**Operation 10: Terminate**


End file.
